Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters
by Valeria Kementari
Summary: What if Professor Xavier and Magneto had established a school for mutants together, as friends? Latest Update: Before the fourth installment can begin a massive correction is on its way! Chapters One and Two of Book One: Mutantkind has been corrected!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Beginnings

"Mutation has defined life in this planet since its inception. It is because of this ability to adapt, to evolve, that we are here in this poorly lit room; discussing the fate of an entire new race, although the term _'race'_ is not accurate. Mutants are not a different race, though some may claim so. Mutants are still humans, mutants are still Homo sapiens. Humanity tends to separate itself in different groups, or races, but in truth, it's all the same. African, Chinese, Albino, Caucasian, Mutant, we are all still humans," said an ominous voice, echoing in the gigantic underground room. The room was illuminated from below, barely showing the faces of those gathered in it. Charles Xavier knew what their answer was going to be before they even opened their mouths.

"Pretty words, a nice little speech you got there, Professor, but it's just words, isn't it? Empty words that can dazzle the population. Words that, without a doubt, you will start spreading around the minute the 'mutant story' leaves the tabloids and establishes itself on the six o' clock news," said a red haired man who wore horn-rimmed glasses. "The point of this meeting is simple. Three words: Are mutants dangerous? And what can you do to stop these dangerous mutants?" Henry Peter Gyrich's questions echoed with strength around the room, and several of those gathered agreed with him silently.

The answer did not come from Professor Xavier, but from the white-haired man sitting next to him. The man moved his hand slightly and Gyrich's glasses suddenly sprang to life, twisting and stretching until they resembled a piece of cloth; and with a second flick of his index finger, the white-haired man wrapped the metal around Gyrich's mouth. "The question should be why we are talking to you instead of turning you all into human kebabs. What can _you_ do to stop _us_?"

"You do not want me to answer that, Lensherr," said a man seemingly in his forties, taking a smoke from his cigar and lifting his feet on the table. A black leather eye-patch shone brightly over the man's left eye. "Release Gyrich, he might be a jerk, but he's our jerk."

Erik Magnus Lensherr looked into his friend's eyes, and when he saw Charles Xavier nodding slightly he released Gyrich and returned his glasses to normal, leaving them in the table.

"You have managed to gather a pretty big number of mutants in that school of yours in upstate New York. We need to know if any of those mutants are possible risks to national security. We need all the information available on them," said the man at the top of the table, taking another smoke from his cigar.

"There is absolutely no way I will share that information with you. I will protect my students regardless of the cost to myself," answered Xavier almost instantly.

"Students? What is it that you teach them there? To hold humans as hostages like Mr. Lensherr so kindly has shown us just now?" asked Gyrich who had not put his glasses back on.

"We teach our students to control their powers, and the concept of peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. It is our dream that…"

"Charles," said a very familiar voice in his head as he spoke. Charles Xavier continued to speak, talking about his school and his dreams; and at the same time answered Erik's voice in his head.

"They're not going to fall for it, aren't they?" said Xavier.

"I told you it was a waste of time," grunted Erik while he frowned towards Gyrich.

"It is not a waste of time. If we had done nothing the government would have sent the entire army to bring down the school. We had to come clean to them; we have to stop working outside their knowledge," replied Charles while he continued to peacefully explain the advantages of teaching mutant children to learn to control their powers.

"Can't we just take over the planet and be done with it? It's got to be far easier than dealing with these humans," said Erik Lensherr in his head, trying not to smile and pretending he was listening to Xavier's speech.

"Trust me, it'd be a much bigger headache," answered Xavier. "I guess I'll have to do it… I abhor using my powers in this fashion, but I can see in their minds there is absolutely no other way."

Professor Charles Xavier concentrated as he spoke. The most powerful telepath on the planet released the power of his mind on those present; and as he spoke his words were etched in their minds, and their previous ideas of difference and prejudice became less clear, while tolerance and acceptance towards Mutantkind took front place. But when the last words came from Xavier's lips, even his long-time friend was surprised.

"Mr. Lensherr and I will take full responsibility for every single mutant that comes into our school, and we will accept any mutant that asks for our aid."

After a brief silence, Colonel Nicholas Fury's words were dry and clear. "We will allow your school to continue, for now; but one, just one of your so-called students hurts one hair on one human head and you're both gonna burn for it, you have my word on that."

"Our students are versed enough to know how to behave themselves around cattle, but there will be no hurting of human hairs if that is what it takes to remain open," said Erik Lensherr amused, under the reproving eye of his friend.

"What did you call me?" asked John Proudstar, his face inches away from a rather large fraternity jock who was laughing with his friends, all dressed in similar red and white football jackets.

"Freak-lover. We saw you and the green-haired freak making out in the line. Does she dye all her hair or just the visible one?" asked the jock, between laughs.

John Proudstar grabbed the jock's jacket and lifted him with incredible ease, his eyes filled with anger and the jock wriggled his feet in the air, unable to break free from the strong grip. He held him high until a gentle hand wrapped itself around his arm.

"John. Let him down. He's only a little human boy. Let him say his stupid intolerant remarks and let us go. We're gonna miss the trailers," said Lorna Lensherr, her long green hair flowing down her back.

"He insulted you," said John. He looked straight into the jock's eyes which clearly showed he was as afraid as his friends, who had taken a step backwards. "I want to turn him into a bat and use him to punish his friends for laughing."

"My knight in shining armor… let him go, he's not worth it," she said, almost whispering in his ear.

John Proudstar released his grip on the boy's jacket, and he fell to the floor hard. "Let's go, Freddie, Mort and your brother must've gotten our seats by now," Proudstar said, wrapping his large hand around his girlfriend's waist.

As they walked away, the jock shouted at them. "Yeah walk away! I know what you are! Freaks!"

But it was not John Proudstar who turned to watch him. Lorna Lensherr's green eyes flashed brightly for a second and the metal buttons on the jock's jeans flew away and his pants fell to the floor as he stood up, and soon all of his friends suffered the same fate. Although their pants were no longer in their place, all the jocks acted as one and began to run in the opposite direction, clearly scared.

Lorna and John laughed as they reached the entrance of the movie theater, when an ominous voice coming from behind forced the pair to stop.

"The rule of this little trip to the movies was very clear. No powers. Do I have to call Professor Voght and teleport your behinds back to school?" said a young woman with black hair, tightly wrapped in a bun behind her head.

"No Professor Sage, sir," said the young couple as one, trying hard not to laugh.

"Get inside," said the woman known only as Sage by her students, with a clear icy tone. She pushed the students' backs and entered the theater herself. Her eyes scanned the place; her computer-like mind told her everything there was to know about it, and the people within. Half the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters were inside, and she could not help but feel worried. "Forge, I'm in. The movie is about to start. Everything clear on your end?" she said, whispering into her hand as slowly as she could.

"Yes, no sign of gigantic mutant-killing machines, or angry marines, or TV-show cops or anything of the sort," said a man's voice in their communications device.

Sage could not help but smile at Forge's remark. The lights dimmed and the movie began, and she crossed her arms leaning her back against the wall, her eyes alert, her mind taking into account everything that was happening in the theater.

Somehow she could not stop looking at a young girl, who sat with a couple of friends and kept sending furtive looks to the Rasputin boy. Sage concentrated, looking at the brown-haired girl, and soon she was surprised. Sage's mind was exactly like a computer's, she could store vast amount of information, process it, analyze it, but the most starling part of her mutation was the ability to identify other mutants. There was no question about it. The thirteen-year-old girl was a mutant, very much like her and all of Xavier's students.

Katherine Pryde could not believe her eyes. That boy was gorgeous. And he was smiling at her in the line. He was a bit old for her, he must've been at least nineteen, but he was gorgeous. She was instantly attracted to him, but it didn't matter how much she looked at him, he wasn't looking back. And why would he? She was just a little girl to him, and that girl he was sitting next to was very pretty. Her would-be-competitor had long brown-reddish hair, green eyes and a perfect body. Katherine could not help but look at her own breasts; they were so small she hated them. The gorgeous boy probably liked big breasts, like all boys did, she thought. She tried to look at the movie, but her eyes were entranced, she could not stop looking at him. What was she going to do?

"My head is about to split open," said Wanda Lensherr, gently caressing her temples with her fingers.

"Why? Are you having another little 'episode' like the other day in the school cafeteria?" asked Piotr Rasputin, hiding a smile.

"No smartass; someone is casting a spell… or something like it… very clear… and upon you of all people," said Wanda, closing her eyes, trying to concentrate.

"Casting a spell? You really take into account that whole "Scarlet Witch" thing, da?" said Piotr.

"Would you two shut up? I want to see the movie," said a boy sitting next to Piotr. His long black hair covered most of his face, although the long tip of his ears was slightly visible through it.

"Jean-Paul shhh… let me concentrate," replied Wanda in a tone of irritation that rivaled Jean-Paul's.

"Oh great, now you're shushing me," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, lifting his arms and throwing himself backwards in his seat.

"Shut up, all three of you… you act like children, we're never going to be able to go to a movie like this ever again if you keep this up," said a voice from the row behind them, another boy with long white hair and a piercing in his nose.

Jean-Paul straightened himself as he heard Pietro Lensherr's voice and turned his head backwards, his eyes fixed on Pietro's for less than a second and a smile etched in his lips.

"It's a girl… she's in love with you… well love is a little strong… I'd say infatuated… she can't stop thinking about you… and… her breasts?" said Wanda Lensherr.

"Who are you talking about?" said Piotr Rasputin, confused. "A girl is in love with me, thinking about me and you know it? Since when can _you _read minds?"

"I can't. But I'm sensitive to magic, all forms of it. Ever heard of the "evil eye"? When a person concentrates too much on someone they want, this person ends up with a headache as a result. It's a minor spell that most people don't even know they can do… but it's very real, and that's what's going to happen. Unless we break it before it does," she said matter-of-factly.

Wanda Lensherr turned around; her green eyes fixed on the thirteen-year-old girl for a second and then turned to Piotr, kissing his lips with passion.

"Bozhe Moi!" said Piotr Rasputin surprised, closing his fist as she separated herself from him. Without realizing it he activated his mutant power, and part of his hand began to transform itself into organic steel.

"Rasputin!" whispered Jean-Paul, covering Piotr's metal hand with both of his.

At the touch of Jean-Paul's hands, Piotr calmed down and he looked at Wanda, his eyes showing a great deal of anger. "Never do that again."

"Spoilsport. Her spell was giving me a headache, I had to stop it, and"— but Wanda Lensherr could not finish her sentence, for she disappeared in a sudden cloud of mist and Professor Sage sat in her now empty seat.

"Shut up, or you are all going back to the school like that before you can even say another word."

Piotr Rasputin and Jean Paul Beaubier nodded and continued watching the movie, their hands tightly wrapped around each other's.

"You'll thank me later… oh crap," said Wanda Lensherr, realizing where she was. She was in a large empty room, its walls covered in metal casing as were its floors and ceiling. She looked around; she was not alone in the empty room. She moved closer to a younger boy, who was covered entirely on ice and sat next to him. "What did you do?"

"I… couldn't control it… I couldn't stay as a human…" said the boy, on the brink of tears.

"Why not? Haven't you learned to control your power by now Bobby?" said Wanda, gently placing her arm around him as he began to change back into his human form.

"Oh yes, but it was so hot I just felt I needed a little bit of ice for a second or two. Lucky me, Professor Sage spotted me," he smiled, revealing his tears were not true.

"Nothing gets past that bitch," added Wanda rolling her eyes, and the pair of young mutants began to laugh.

Suddenly, there was another burst of mist inside the room, and another young mutant walked from it. Both Wanda Lensherr and Bobby Drake recognized Alison Blaire as she materialized.

"And what did you do?" said Wanda, clearly amused by the situation.

"I called Sage a frigid bitch after she told me to stop making out with my boyfriend. She didn't like it," said Alison, touching her long blonde hair. "I hate mist teleports… it completely ruins my hairdo. How do you keep it like that Wanda?"

"Magic," said the young mutant smiling.

"You are not here to discuss hairdos or the effects of my powers on them," said Professor's Voght's voice from the control cabin above them. "You are being reprehended for breaking the school rules on a field trip. So, if you can't behave yourselves then you will have to be taught what can happen to you if you do not follow the rules."

The lights turned off for a second, and Wanda and Bobby stood up looking around. The room began to change its size, its shape, its color; and soon they found themselves in the middle of an empty street, though they had not left the room. A gigantic robot appeared behind a building, lifting its massive hand towards them.

"Mutants. Surrender or be exterminated," said the hollow metallic voice of the gigantic robot.

"Great… Sentinels. Again. I'm so bored of this stupid program. I mean, who can believe the government has these gigantic things ready to start killing mutants? We do not live in a comic book…" said Wanda, rolling her eyes and preparing a hex between her hands.

"It's your paranoid father, Wanda dear… thank him for this program," added Alison Blaire lifting her arms towards the Sentinel and releasing a burst of laser which collided with the Sentinel's hand, without truly harming him.

"I shall speak with him about it when he returns home… I might not be his favorite daughter, but I bet he'll listen. I mean, I hope…" said Wanda, lowering her voice in those last words releasing her hex sphere which exploded in mid-air. The hex caused the Sentinel's hand to fall off, instantly rusting itself before their very eyes.

"Concentrate on the battle and stop the chatter!" said Professor Voght with anger in her voice.

"Kids today, they just need to banter. When we were doing these things, we never bantered," said a voice behind her in the control booth. Amelia Voght turned to see her fellow teacher, Professor Jason Wyngarde, who was lighting a cigarette.

She moved her hand dismissively; turning the cigarette into mist and making it disappear. "Don't smoke those foul things in my Danger Room," she said. "What do you want?"

"Xavier's back; he says we all have to go to a meeting the second the kids are back from the movies. Thought you should know," he said, his eyes directing themselves towards the children below.

"Charles is back? Already?" she asked surprised.

"Trouble in paradise? He didn't tell you?" Wyngarde said with a smile in his face.

"You know full well this control booth is psi-shielded to prevent students from changing the programmer's… why am I explaining myself to you of all people? Just stay in my place and look after the kids while I go talk to my husband," said Amelia Voght clearly flustered, walking towards the door.

"I'll be happy to do so," said Wyngarde with a smile in his face watching as the trio of punished kids toppled the Sentinel and stood on his chest giving each other hi-fives and compliments. He looked back, hearing the click of the door as Voght left the room and smiled broadly again. "Well kids, let's see if you can play at Uncle Jason's level," he whispered to himself as he stretched his knuckles.

"That was easy. I wonder if they'll start spanking us when they realize we beat these things all too easily…" said Alison Blaire crossing her arms and sitting on the Sentinel's nose.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" said Bobby Drake with a smile standing on top of an ice slide next to the Sentinel.

"Robert Drake, you're only a child!" said Wanda Lensherr faking outrage at the lustful look in the teen's face.

"Both of you are only two years older than me and I've done stuff you can only dream of," he said proudly.

Wanda closed her eyes and moved one of her hands as she placed the other one in her forehead. "Wait a second… my magic detects… a big fat liar!"

"I am not lying!" said Bobby Drake, but his voice was suddenly stopped by the mechanic clunks all around them. As one the trio of young mutants looked around and they saw coming from behind the tall buildings a dozen Sentinels surrounding them.

"Surrender mutants, or be exterminated," said the ominous voice of the first Sentinel who lifted its gigantic hand towards them.

"We get it Professor Voght… it's… we…" but once more Wanda Lensherr could not finish her sentence as a blast of raw plasma energy erupted from the Sentinel's hand towards them.

"Charles?" asked Amelia Voght, entering the Headmasters' office. The room was rather large and even though it was one big room it seemed as if two smaller rooms coexisted within. Charles Xavier's desk was tidy and neat while Erik Lensherr's, in the opposite corner of the room, was rather unkempt and dirty. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he had barely stepped into the office since the school opened its doors. Amelia's question went unanswered; the room was empty. What was happening? Had Charles really returned? If so, why wasn't he in his office; where he kept to himself most of the day?

Jason Wyngarde laughed as he saw the young students running all over the Danger Room trying to escape the deadly Sentinels who chased them firing plasma blasts from their hands and eyes.

"You think it's funny, bullying small children?" said a voice behind him.

For a second Wyngarde felt a chill in his spine, but when he turned and saw the familiar visage of Erik Magnus Lensherr he calmed himself.

"Erik! Since when can you impersonate his voice so perfectly?" he said with a smile.

"Since I found out the children are more afraid of Charles than they are of me," answered one of the school's Headmasters. "I doubt he will approve of your use of the Danger Room's technology."

"It's not the Danger Room. It's my illusion power, there aren't any Sentinels there. I'm not going to harm the children just… scare them you know," shrugged Wyngarde rubbing the back of his head. "I have to laugh or else I'd have a big headache, those things aren't easy to maintain you know."

Erik peered through the seeing-glass and he frowned as he saw his youngest daughter, Wanda, running around like a scared rabbit alongside the other children. "These are the ones that broke the rules on the field trip, right?"

"Yes, why?" asked Jason Wyngarde divining the intentions of his friend and employer.

"Look! Below that arch! Hide there!" Wanda Lensherr shouted her hands directed towards a small alcove between two fallen buildings. As she did her hex power flew towards it, causing their soon-to-be hiding place to fall upon itself. "Oh… bad idea," she added.

Suddenly thunder broke above them and the trio of children could do nothing else but stop and look around. A magnificent figure fell from the skies with grace, gently levitating towards them.

"He is so cool," said Bobby Drake with his eyes fixed on the man's red helmet.

The man waved his hands and with ease the Sentinels were instantly crushed into nothingness, falling in large chunks of metal all around. And when Magneto turned to see the children before him his voice was more ominous than the previous burst of thunder.

"I am very disappointed," he said simply. And though his eyes were not fixed on any of them, Wanda knew he was talking about her.

Amelia Voght's mist form was far faster than her corporeal body; and she decided it was necessary to use it, even if Charles didn't approve. As she teleported herself to her bedroom, to the hangar, to the grounds, she could not help but remember some of the first words Charles Xavier spoke to her.

"Mutant powers are a gift, a blessing. But we must never use them for personal gain, even for something as trivial as lessening our travel time. Mutant powers should only be used for the improvement of all of mankind."

It was a point over which most students, and several members of the teaching staff, argued about with passion. Amelia kept looking for him, and it was not until she had materialized within sight of the school's front gate that she saw her husband. He was standing next to a cigar-smoking military man and was signing some papers, as a helicopter slowly landed behind them. Amelia could not see clearly. She was about to teleport herself there when a withered voice stopped her.

"It begins," said the woman simply.

Amelia turned to see the blind mutant seer known as Irene Adler, or Destiny as she preferred to be called, and wondered what she meant. She did not need to ask.

"The end of peace. The War is beginning," said Destiny removing her hood, directing her blind eyes towards Xavier.

Amelia could see as a couple of young mutants were taken down from the helicopter severely shackled and handed over to her husband like stray dogs. With a last look at Destiny, she teleported herself, ready to assist him.

"The time for secrecy is over. There will be nothing sacred anymore," said Destiny ominously, quite aware that even in her mist form Amelia was able to still hear her, and she put her hood back and began to walk towards the school.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: A Tale of Two Mutants

"You're telling me I'm a... mutant?" Katherine's Pryde voice was louder than she expected and several people looked their way. Embarrassed, the young girl lowered her face and the tone of her voice. "You mean… mutant mutant? Like those people in the tabloids with tentacle arms and blue skin?"

Lorna Lensherr could not help but laugh. Sitting in front of the young mutant, Lorna lowered her milkshake and answered. "Yes, but not like that, no, I can't see any tentacles or weird colored skin on you. From what we can tell, you possess the ability to re-align your molecules with other objects. To speak more plainly you can walk through walls, like a ghost or something."

"Oh… it's that what I do? Align my molecules to phase through objects? Cool… oh… I get it now! The other day I was sleeping and I woke up in the living room! I phased through the floor!" she shouted in excitement, once more calling the attention of nearly everyone present. She lowered her head between her shoulders and whispered. "Sorry about that… Hey… Is that why I have these awful headaches? Sometimes they last for days… it's really annoying."

"Well we have a doctor or two on the school, and Professor Xavier is the world's foremost expert in genetics so if anyone can figure it out it's him," said Lorna calmly wrapping her slender fingers around her glass. Her eyes moved slightly towards John, her boyfriend, who was standing outside the Malt Shoppe looking at her and smiling.

"And… you think my parents will let me go to this school?" asked Katherine shyly, sipping her milkshake.

"That's what my dad is trying to find out," added Lorna.

"A mutant? You claim I am… a monstrosity?" The skies roared in the response as the clouds gathered above them and lightning barely illuminated the hilltop.

Professor Charles Xavier could feel nothing but awe as the elements roared in response to the girl's emotions. "Yes. You are not a Goddess, but a mutant, a mortal; one of us."

Thunder broke more heavily than ever before. The white-haired African girl was furious. Wind erupted as she lifted her hands and she began to rise from the ground. Lightning flew from her hands surrounding her and clearly illuminating the even darker skies. At her command, the lightning moved at terrible speed and split into several bolts surrounding Charles Xavier, hitting the floor around him; and Ororo, Goddess of the Storm, spoke again; her voice more ominous than thunder itself. "Is that what mortals can do, little man?"

"I don't think the Prof is handling this one too well, isn't he?" said Wanda Lensherr with her arms crossed in front of her, as she watched the scene atop the hill from below in a small village.

Piotr Rasputin saw the villagers flee all around them as rain began to pour from the skies. Without a thought he changed his flesh to organic steel and lifted his arm to cover Jean-Paul Beaubier who was standing next to him, and answered Wanda's remark. "Da. Should we get involved?"

"Nyet," said Jean-Paul leaning against Piotr and imitating his voice, "the Prof said we let him deal with this; even though I'm starting to lose my patience here too. Anyway, what I don't get is how an African Teenage crazy girl can speak English this good; she'd give Henry here a run for his money, wouldn't she?"

"I think the Professor's translating her words, or he taught her English or something like that. Telepaths tend to do that without even realizing it," answered Wanda.

"She's very hot, isn't she?" said Henry McCoy suddenly as he crouched a couple of feet before his fellow students.

Piotr and Jean-Paul exchanged a strange look after McCoy's query.

"You must stop this! There is no need to show me your abilities, Ororo! I know full well the extent of your powers; I've been monitoring your situation for years!"

"Little human you test my patience!" said Ororo, her eyes glowing brightly white. Thunder broke once more and the pouring rain fell with even more intensity; such was the power of the rain that it began to scour the dry earth of the hill.

"Ororo I know all about your parents! I know how they died!" shouted Charles Xavier in the cacophony of the storm.

"My parents are the Wind and the Rain! I am the daughter of the Elements! I am the Goddess of the Storm!" Ororo shouted in anger and though everyone was watching her, none could tell those weren't raindrops falling from her eyes.

Jean-Paul Beaubier ran at his topmost speed through the hill reaching his teacher in a matter of seconds and he shouted, covering his face from the rain. "Use your powers Professor! Make her sleep or something!"

"Child, I don't need advices from my students. Now return with your companions and wait until I tell you what to do," answered Xavier.

"We're all going to die," said Wanda ominously.

"Once more you attempt to sound like dear old Professor Adler, Wanda, and you fail miserably at it I must add," said Henry McCoy removing his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt, as he returned to the side of Piotr and Wanda.

"And you look like an ape," she said sticking her tongue out. "Hey… look at that!" she said, pointing towards the top of the hill.

"Oh my stars and garters," whispered Henry McCoy putting back his glasses and following Wanda's command.

"In our school Katherine will learn how to control her powers, yes, but she will also learn under some of the best scientific minds of this century. I took the liberty of perusing Katherine's school records and I was very surprised. Your daughter is a genius. She will find in Xavier's more than enough classes to stimulate her cognitive abilities, as you can clearly see in the brochure," explained Erik Magnus Lensherr calmly sitting in the living room of the Pryde household.

"Reed Richards is a regular lecturer in your school?" said Terri Pryde with clear surprise in her eyes, her hands wrapped in one of Mr. Lensherr's brochures.

"Indeed. He was a friend of my colleague during college, the children simply adore it when he arrives with his family for a day or two," smiled Erik.

"You know, there was a Charles Xavier in a nearby unit when I was in 'Nam… you think he's the same guy?" asked Carmen Pryde with interest leaning back on his sofa.

"I will ask him. Charles is a very reserved about his past, I am not entirely sure he was in a war," said Erik.

"We can't really decide. It's up to her, isn't it? If she wants to go… then I'll guess she'll go," said Terri Pryde trying to remain steady and calm, even though she was clearly distressed.

"It's not that far honey, we will visit her every weekend we can," said Carmen Pryde wrapping his arm around his wife.

"You expect young Katherine to accept the offer?" asked Erik Lensherr.

"I have no doubt Kitty will jump at the possibility," answered Mr. Pryde.

"I don't know, it does sound cool, and I hate these headaches… but what about my friends? Won't I ever see them again? And I have a chemistry test next week which I'm really looking forward to," said Kitty Pryde tightening her coat around her neck as she and Lorna left the Malt Shoppe.

"Katherine… father told me I shouldn't tell you this, but there is more to our school than just learning how to control our gifts," said Lorna standing behind Kitty and placing her hands in her shoulders. "Look across the street, right there… in that alley."

Kitty Pryde squinted. Across the street, in the darkest alley possible, she could see a band of thugs mugging a couple of teenagers. She counted at least eight muggers, all tall and muscular and all of them had either knifes or chains or weapons of some sort. "What am I looking at?"

"Shhh. Just watch," said Lorna.

Suddenly, a massive shadow fell from the nearest building into the alley. Kitty could see it was a very tall, very fat, teenage boy who laughed at the muggers, some of which had fallen to the floor in surprise.

The muggers moved to attack the fat boy, but a blur ran between them and suddenly they found themselves without their weapons; and Kitty saw another teenage boy with short white hair holding them in his hands. She then saw a tall muscular young man, with long black hair tied in a ponytail behind his head flexing his muscles. Atop his shoulders Kitty could see yet another teenager crouching and showing an extremely large tongue, brandishing it menacingly to the muggers.

"The tall guy is my boyfriend, his name is John and he's an Apache. The one on his shoulders, we call him Toad he's a riot that one. The one with white hair is my brother, Pietro; he can move at super speed, he's very annoying sometimes. And the other one it's Freddie. Don't let his size fool you, he's a teddy bear," said Lorna.

Kitty saw as Lorna's friends easily disbanded and shackled the muggers, using their own weapons and even a garbage container, while helping the teenagers escape and retrieve their belongings. And she could not keep her mouth shut. "Are you telling me, in that school of yours… they teach you how to be a superhero?"

Lorna Lensherr did not answer; she merely looked into Kitty's eyes and smiled.

"The hill's coming down upon us!" shouted Piotr Rasputin as he ran uphill, trying to catch Professor Xavier's attention.

Wanda Lensherr felt the time had come and she lifted her arms towards the hill. Her eyes were fixed on the large mass of mud, rock and earth that was about to fall towards the village due to the excessive rain and wind and she concentrated. Her hands shone brightly and she attempted to control the probabilities of the hill not falling on top of them, while Henry McCoy jumped around trying to catch as many people as possible in his strong beast-like arms and removing them from harm at topmost speed.

"Now will you use those powers of yours?" asked Jean-Paul clearly irritated.

"Go down, help Wanda and Henry remove the people from the village," said the Professor dismissively. Jean-Paul threw one last look at his teacher and then ran downhill crossing Piotr on the way, stopping for less than a second to smile at him and then running back down to help the villagers.

Professor Xavier didn't want to use his powers in this way; it was not his preference, but once again, circumstances forced him to do so. He sighed, as Piotr Rasputin shouted something at him and stood a few feet uphill from him, bracing himself. Charles Xavier let loose his mutant power of telepathy; his mind reaching Ororo's and, to his surprise, her mind was closed to him. He tried harder, he had to enter her mind. And then he heard her.

"You old fool! I will not allow you to enter my mind!" she shouted, directing a gigantic bolt of lightning towards Xavier.

Piotr Rasputin did not think; he merely threw himself between the lightning and his teacher. The force of the impact was such that he felt no pain as he fell into unconsciousness, his body regaining its natural shape, the flesh once more replacing the organic steel.

"Piotr!" shouted Jean-Paul from below seeing the scene. With clear anger in his eyes he began to run and, as he did, he found himself running in the air; soon everyone could see he was flying towards the Storm Goddess, even though at the moment, he could not realize it.

"Is there no end to your annoying ilk?" said Ororo with anger, creating a strong gust of wind to stop Jean-Paul in his place. "What is your name? Why do you answer when I strike at the Xavier one?"

"Girl, you are really messed up," said Jean-Paul. His body began to glow, and in an instant it created a massive burst of light powerful enough to light the entire area with the same intensity as the sun.

"By the Bright Lady!" shouted Ororo, the burst of light had clearly blindsided her. She stopped the winds holding Jean-Paul in place and clutched her eyes, unable to see. It was all the opportunity the speedster mutant needed to hit her in the face hard.

"I can't stop it anymore," said Wanda at last, lowering her arms as a trickle of blood fell from her nose. As she did, the mountain roared and the landslide started at last.

"Enough!" shouted Ororo, wind and lightning erupting around her, removing Jean-Paul from her side. Her vision was slowly returning and she saw a most strange sight. Xavier's head was floating like a ghost, in front of her and it spoke.

"Is this what you want, 'Goddess'? You want to kill your own people? To harm these children who accompanied me? Look at the devastation you have wrought upon your people, merely because my words angered you. Is that how Gods behave?"

Ororo looked below, and saw her precious villagers, a very small portion of her worshippers in pain and fear; running around, leaving their belongings, and she saw the landslide falling through the hill, seconds away from engulfing Xavier himself who was kneeling next to his fallen student. Ororo did not hesitate and moved her hands towards the hill, flying in its direction, creating winds to increase her speed and to stop the landslide. "Take Xavier and the young one to safety while I settle this," ordered Ororo to Jean-Paul who flew next to her.

Jean-Paul Beaubier opened his mouth, but there was no time to argue and he followed her orders, trying to lift both Xavier and Piotr though it was not easy.

At her command, the rain stopped and the clouds opened, allowing the sun to shine through. Her winds kept the mud and earth in place, but she did not know how to fully stop them.

"Ororo, allow me to enter your mind, I can teach you how to stop the landslide. How to dry the earth and hold it in place," said Professor Xavier in her head, his voice was faint and strained.

For a second, Ororo doubted what to do, her mind was her own. But she knew there was no other chance and, ever so slowly, she lowered the shields around her mind created by the electrical forces she controlled and allowed Xavier to communicate with her more easily.

"Ororo this is Henry McCoy, one of my most brilliant students, he will guide you through the process," said Xavier inside her mind as she continued to hold the landslide in place with her winds.

"Hello my most belligerent and beautiful adversary, I am honored to be in the presence of a Goddess," said an unfamiliar voice in her head.

"Speak now and tell me what to do, mortal, I will not remain like this forever," said Ororo hiding a smile.

"Very well, the effect I propose is simple, have you ever heard of a magnifying glass?" said Henry McCoy.

Slowly he guided her to shape the droplets of water in the sky, creating a gigantic, natural magnifying glass through which the sun's rays increased its intensity drying the mud and earth and binding it atop the hill, forcing it to stay in place. Eventually Ororo removed her winds, and the land stood in its place, and threatened the villagers no more. After a few minutes she flew towards the center of the village and as she did all the villagers bowed close to the ground, praying in silence.

"Is your ward all right? I did not mean to harm him," she said looking at Piotr who was being tended to by Jean-Paul who was sitting besides him, grabbing the back of his head.

"He will be all right. He thought he could dissipate the lightning, but the force of the attack surprised him," said Xavier smiling, his suit wet and muddy.

"What can you offer me Xavier? I am a Goddess. My people love me and need me. Here I am useful and there is nothing for me to do in a school. Especially a school filled with skeptics such as yourself who do not believe in my Godhood."

"Ororo you are a girl with tremendous power; a power you can control, yes, but you still need to learn how to properly harness it. Witness firsthand the destruction you wrought without even wanting to do so. I offer you a place to learn how to properly use your powers to benefit your… worshippers. If you wish to continue to believe yourself a Goddess, that is your wish, but I know the truth," Xavier removed a small card from his pocket and handed it to Ororo, "come to the school. Let me help you."

Ororo looked at the card for several seconds without answering. When she spoke, she did not lift her eyes, and she began to levitate. "You have an hour to leave my lands. If you do not I will rain my fury upon you again, and this time you will never anger a Goddess ever again." And she flew, her figure disappearing in the sunlight.

Henry McCoy approached his teacher, looking at the skies. "She didn't believe you then?"

"So it would seem," said Professor Xavier his eyes fixed on the departing mutant, a clear sense of disappointment in his voice.

"YES! I mean… yeah… I'd like to go," said Kitty Pryde barely able to control her enthusiasm.

Erik Lensherr smiled at the exclamation of the young mutant. "You certainly know your daughter, Mr. Pryde."

"Indeed. I should have placed a bet or something," added Carmen Pryde.

"We shall be expecting you at the school next Monday then, young Katherine," said Erik extending his hand to the girl.

Katherine Pryde was frightened at first, but slowly she moved her hand and shook Mr. Lensherr's slowly. As she did she felt a sudden tingle of electricity coming from the Headmaster, a chill running down her spine she could not identify.

"She will be there Mr. Lensherr, and we will be there at the crack of dawn the next Saturday," added Terri Pryde on the brink of tears.

"Father we should be going. I don't want to skip Ms Adler's class," said Lorna clinging to Erik's arm.

"We shall speak on the matter of paperwork later Mr. Pryde," said Erik shaking his and his wife's hands one after the other. With a curtly bow, he began to move away while Lorna hugged Kitty goodbye.

Soon after, Erik Lensherr found himself arm to arm with his daughter, approaching their luxurious car while the driver opened the door for them.

"Those people were far more polite than I expected, when we first arrived I thought they were going to bring the torches and pitchforks," said Lorna.

Erik Lensherr laughed. "My child you still have so much to learn about your powers and about the way the human brain works. That is why I make such strong case of you studying anatomy and chemistry."

"You're telling me you… influenced them to accept?" asked Lorna with surprise in her voice.

"My child I would never admit to using my powers on a poor defenseless human being," said Erik Lensherr catching his daughter's eye across the roof of the car. And after a brief second of silence they both began to laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Nuthouse

"I… flew… didn't I?" asked Jean-Paul Beaubier, his arms tightly wrapped around his boyfriend's waist, resting next to him in bed.

"You most certainly did," replied Piotr Rasputin, gently caressing Jean-Paul's hair.

"And all because of you. I was so angry when that bitch struck you down… I just had to do something," said Jean-Paul, lifting his head from Piotr's chest and looking straight into his black eyes.

"I always knew you had it in you, you just needed the appropriate stimulation," added Piotr.

"Stimulation… I like that," Jean-Paul smiled and moved his body upwards, slowly parting his lips, locking them with Piotr's in a never-ending kiss. Slowly Jean-Paul began to move his hand through Piotr's chest, increasing the intensity of the kiss as he did, sliding his hand downwards, until, suddenly, Piotr's mutant power manifested and his flesh turned into organic steel, his black shirt ripping itself with the strain. "That wasn't part of the game," said Jean-Paul smiling.

"Sorry… you… surprised me, your hand was…" said Piotr blushing while slowly returning to human form.

"My hand was going exactly where I want it to go," said Jean-Paul, kissing Piotr's lips gently and moving his hand even downward.

"Wait, I… I can't," said Piotr, stopping Jean-Paul's hand.

"Why not? It's fun… you'll enjoy it."

"I'm certain I will, but… in this place… there are too many people around, the walls have eyes and ears here."

"And? I'm not ashamed of what I like to do and we're old enough to do whatever we want to do," said Jean-Paul, slightly frowning his brow.

"It's not like that, I'm just saying, I wouldn't be comfortable enough doing _that_ here," explained Piotr, "you never know what can happen in this school."

"You're as paranoid as Professor Lensherr… what's the worst that can happen?"

And exactly when he finished speaking a tremendous explosion rocked the entire mansion.

Katherine Pryde was too excited to notice anything. The taxi rode uphill, slowly moving through Graymalkin Lane until it reached the mansion placed at 1407. The strong metal doors, which led to the mansion's grounds, opened and she expected the taxi to cross them, but instead it stopped.

"Excuse me, the mansion is up there, can you please take me to the door?" asked Kitty in her most polite voice.

"No. This… as far as I go," said the taxi driver in a strong Hindu accent.

"But… I have to walk all the way uphill? It's like… a lot…"

"Sorry girl, thirty-two fifty, and hurry up I want not to stay in this place for long," said Apu the taxi driver.

Kitty Pryde handed him the exact fare, grabbed her bag and got off the cab. She sighed, watching before her the road to the mansion and the vast wood around it and she sighed once more. She tightened her grip on the bag's handle and began to walk. As she did she noticed the wood around her seemed to spring from a fairytale. Birds chirped all around, almost singing a catchy tune; she found the bird's song calmed her anxieties and fears. She spotted a rabbit or two, and several squirrels eating nuts in the lowest branches of the trees. Smiling, Kitty didn't even realize she had arrived at the front door of the mansion. The place seemed huge from what she could see. The mansion was four stories high, and it looked like three independent buildings, connected in the middle. She was impressed; she couldn't believe it was all just one building. She gathered courage and walked the few stone steps towards the front door. She lifted her hand towards the doorbell and that's when it happened. The heavy oak doors exploded, and a young man crashed through them.

Instinctively, Kitty Pryde turned immaterial, and the man just phased through her body, landing hard on the paved road before the mansion. Kitty's eyes were widely opened. For a second she looked at the boy, whose appendages were larger than usual and his long black hair fell on top of his eyes. Almost immediately the teenager jumped back and ran towards the destroyed door.

"Good morning," he said as he jumped through the hole in the door.

Kitty Pryde was surprised and followed him with her eyes. She looked through the broken door and saw a teenage boy and a girl, both of them with long blonde hair and blue eyes, their hands locked together and standing in the middle of the air. She could not believe her eyes. She saw Professor Lensherr, also standing in mid-air, wearing a strange looking helmet and several other people she did not know all looking at the blonde twins, who shot beams from their hands.

"Drake, take young Ms. Pryde to familiarize herself with the facilities, the teachers will handle this," said Professor Lensherr, looking over his shoulder at the front door.

Kitty saw a boy made of ice walking towards her, avoiding a blast from the blonde twins as he did. The boy changed his form as he reached her, turning into an average-looking kid of no more than fifteen years. "Hi, I'm Bobby… I'm supposed to give you the tour around the school, you must be Kitty."

"Yes… am… there are two people standing in the air and shooting everybody," said Kitty, shyly pointing at the middle of the entrance hall.

"That? Oh it's nothing, just new students I think, happens all the time here; come with me; it'd be best if we circle the mansion and we enter from the back. It wouldn't be a great first day if you lost a limb or something," said Bobby Drake casually.

Kitty gave one last look through the broken door and then agreed to follow the boy.

"The school is actually a mansion, it was Professor Xavier's family home, but he turned it into a school with Professor Lensherr about five years ago, I've been here for two years, I was the youngest student ever, well until you it seems, how old are you, eleven?"

"No, I'm… I'm thirteen," said Kitty, following the trail around the mansion.

"Oh, ok then, still the youngest; I was twelve the day I crossed those doors, luckily for me there wasn't any crazy student trying to kill everybody."

"What was that all about?" asked Kitty.

"Don't really know, those two kids came about two weeks ago, the army brought them or something like that, they were terrorists or villains or something of the sort. I think Professor Xavier's trying to rehabilitate them. They were keeping them in shackles in the basement but they escaped and it seems they aren't too happy about it."

"I see," replied Kitty.

"So, back to the tour, this is the backyard, you can see the swimming pool, it's huge, there are two basketball courts, a tennis court, a baseball field a little further down, the woods all around the campus… and there's even a lake down that path, with a little cottage. It's a popular making-out spot for couples, so whenever a guy invites you to go the lake you know what to expect, which I think should happen as soon as you meet some of the guys because you're so cute," explained Bobby.

Kitty blushed at his remark but did not speak.

"The first and second floors is where the classrooms are," he said as he opened a big windowed door and lead her inside, "we have classes like in any regular school, math, physics and all that stuff I so hate. The student body is separated by age, but you're certainly the youngest right now so I have no clue where they'll put you, we need to speak with a teacher to see if they know. Right now I should be in class, but I was chosen to show you around, for which I am very grateful because I hate History."

"Why do you hate it? I love to study history," said Kitty.

"Yeah, until you have a teacher like Professor Adler. The old bat knows everything you're going to do before you do it, it's impossible to cheat on quizzes, and sometimes she doesn't even test you, she just tells you your grade based on what you would have done… I never got more than a D in her class."

"I see," Kitty nodded, pretending to understand what he was saying.

"The girls' dormitories are in the third and fourth floors, on the left wing, the boys on the right, I think you're bunking with Wanda, she's cool, she's Professor Lensherr's daughter."

"I met his other daughter, Lorna, she was very cool," said Kitty, remembering last week's visit to the Malt Shoppe.

"She's like the most popular girl in the school, every girl wants to be her, every boy wants to date her," said Bobby Drake almost in a singsong tone. "I'll show you your room later, right now we're going to the best place in the school," he said as he lifted his hand to press a panel on the wooden wall.

"Robert Drake get your hand out of there," said a hollow voice from behind them.

Bobby jumped at the voice, and Kitty imitated him. Slowly she turned to see a tall woman, who wore her black hair in a tight bun behind the back of her head. The woman had red sunglasses and her skin was as pale as chalk.

"You are not allowed to visit the lower levels without a teacher, you know the rules," said the woman, crossing her arms before her.

"Professor Sage, this is Kitty Pryde, she's a new student, I was about to show her the Danger Room and Cerebro and all the cool stuff," said Bobby almost with fear in his voice.

"Welcome to the school Katherine," said Sage curtly, her eyes fixed on Bobby, "she will see the Danger Room when she is ready, hurry up, finish her orientation, take her to her room and go back to class. Now."

Sensing Professor Sage's tone was final, Bobby Drake merely lowered his head and agreed in an almost inaudible whisper. Slowly he guided Kitty towards the staircases in silence, under the watchful eye of his teacher.

"Who was she? Is it just me or she's the creepiest person ever?" whispered Kitty.

"Shhh… not here, she can hear you. And yes, she's so very creepy," replied Bobby Drake.

As soon as they reached the second floor, Kitty raised her voice slightly. "So, what was it you wanted to show me?"

"The best part of our education here, simple as that. You see, like I told you before, we get all the regular classes, but we also have special classes to learn how to control and use our powers responsibly, and most of this classes happen in the Danger Room."

"That sounds weird, who named it?" asked Kitty skeptically.

"The older kids, they thought it sounded cool I guess. You see, the Danger Room is just that, a room filled with Danger. In it you can expect anything and everything and you have to use your powers to defend yourself. It's really cool. Professor Forge created this new holographic technology that can create anything you dream of, it was based on Professor Wyngarde's illusion powers. Once we had an exercise in the Roman Coliseum when it wasn't all destroyed, it was so cool."

"I can't wait to see that. And does the entire class go there at the same time, doesn't it get a little… crowded?" asked Kitty.

"No. We are all separated into squads. I have no clue how they separate us into squads, what do they look for to make the different squads… but they do. Each teacher is responsible for teaching five to six students all about their powers, and each have a very different take on what we should do with them. I'm in Professor Voght's squad; she's cool. Once a week the squads change their teachers for a lesson, so we get a different view on what to do with our powers. I so love it when we get Professor Lensherr, he always teaches us how to fight. Professor Xavier is constantly telling us why we mustn't use our powers, or how we must barely use them… he's boring."

Kitty Pryde tried to comprehend all the information she was given and to remember the path to the dormitories when suddenly a strange cloud formation caught her attention through the window. She stopped walking and stood in front of the large window, watching intently at a gigantic dark cloud, which seemed to be flying towards them, getting larger with every second.

"That isn't normal… isn't it?" she asked.

"No… I… I've never seen anything like that," he said, lifting his hand to open the window.

"Don't do it, it looks like a huge storm coming this way," said Kitty stopping him.

"Isn't it a lovely day?" said Wanda Lensherr, tightening her sunglasses and leaning backwards in her chair by the swimming pool.

"It will be until Professor Cassidy tells your dad we skipped class," replied Alison Blaire, resting next to her in another chair.

"What's the worst he can do? Void us from going to the next trip to the town's theater? Last one wasn't that good either," said Wanda.

"We're already banned from the next trip, remember? Maybe this time he'll tire and expel us," added Alison with worry in her voice.

"Nah, he won't. Professor Xavier will vouch for us, he always does. You worry too much Al, nothing will happen because we missed one lousy math class."

The skies above turned darker in a second and the sun was blocked. Thunder broke in the distance and Alison Blaire removed her sunglasses and stared at her friend.

"Yeah I know… I cursed us. Damn my mouth," said Wanda, removing her glasses and looking up.

Lightning slowly illuminated the skies and coalesced into a form before the girls and Wanda Lensherr recognized the young woman appearing in the lightning.

"You, red-clad mortal, fetch the Xavier one, I need to speak with him," said Ororo, Goddess of the Storm, appearing before them.

"Wow," said Alison Blaire, opening her eyes wide.

"Professor Xavier isn't in the school right now. Do you want to leave a message?" said Wanda, leaning back in her chair and speaking casually. "And do remove those clouds, I'm sunbathing."

Ororo's eyes opened wide, the mortal dared speak to her like that. Thunder broke and her eyes flashed with fury and she created a gigantic bolt of lightning in the skies, and directed it to the young woman.

"This sort of thing happens all the time?" asked Kitty Pryde, her eyes fixed on Wanda, who stepped out of a crater in the ground, her bathing suit torn and ripped, her body covered in pink-red energy.

"You mean almost naked girls fighting each other near the swimming pool? I should be so lucky," answered Bobby Drake, his eyes fixed on the battle below, as he opened the window widely. "That's Wanda, the one dressed in red, she always dresses in red. I don't know who the flying girl is, I never saw her here."

"I've seen that girl before… Wanda… she was in a theater I went to a couple of weeks ago. Weird," added Kitty Pryde as she saw Wanda lifting her hands towards Ororo, who fell to the swimming pool suddenly as a massive bolt of pink-red energy hit her.

After a few seconds of silence, Kitty spoke again. "So let me see. In the Entrance Hall, the Headmaster and some of the teachers are fighting against some new students who are probably terrorists, and in the backyard, one of the students is fighting a girl you have no clue who it is."

"Pretty much. So… we continue the tour?" asked Bobby Drake with a smile, closing the window, while Kitty Pryde wondered what sort of place she had just decided to trust her education with.

"Charly X is going to be really mad when he comes back, you know?" said Forge, closing the manacles on the young teenage boy lying unconscious before him.

"I had to try to speak with them," said Erik Lensherr, removing his helmet. "I do not agree with him about keeping them in a cell."

"They're dangerous, you just saw what they did. They're as mad as their father was," said Amelia Voght, coalescing into human form next to them.

"Yes, I see that now. Charles was right. We will wait for this psychiatrist friend of his to examine them before taking them from their cell again," agreed Erik Lensherr.

"Professors, if you do not need my assistance anymore I shall return to my class, Professor Adler was telling a most fascinating tale and I would like to hear at least the end of it," said Henry McCoy with a curtly bow.

"Yes, leave now Henry, return to class," said Erik Lensherr, landing next to a gigantic hole in the ground. "We should start repairing this before Charles returns."

"Professor Lensherr! There's a crazy girl attacking Wanda by the pool!" shouted Alison Blaire, running towards them from the left hall.

"It never ends, does it?" said Erik Lensherr, putting his helmet back on. "You need help putting the Struckers back in their cell?" asked as he passed next to Amelia.

"Don't be silly. Go find out what's going on back there."

Erik Lensherr nodded and gently levitated next to the young girl, and he spoke. "Tell me now, why were you and my daughter by the swimming pool? Shouldn't you have been in class?"

The water in the swimming pool began to move, suddenly creating a massive whirlpool, and it began to move upwards, like a fountain. And atop the massive sprout of water, Ororo, Goddess of the Storm, sat on it and laughed.

"You're laughing?" asked Wanda, her eyes glowing as red as her torn one-piece bathing suit.

"How did you do that? It was… amusing," said Ororo, looking at Wanda from the sprout of water.

"I… control probabilities. The least likely something is from happening… I sort of tweak it into happening. It's like magic really," explained Wanda, clearly confused.

"I see. You're a witch, a sorceress… it is amusing to see the lengths mortals are willing to take to have power only fit for Gods," said Ororo. With ease she dispersed the water sprout, returning the calm to the pool, while she gently flew towards Wanda, landing before her. "What be your name mortal?"

"Wanda… I'm… Wanda Lensherr, are we going to keep fighting?"

"Not unless you want to. I've come here to learn all about the different kinds of mortals. Why should a Goddess such as myself focus her gifts on such a small land? Once I've learned enough about all of you I can take my gifts to all of mankind. Such is my purpose on this world," explained Ororo.

"You didn't seem much eager to help us when we saw you last week," said Wanda, powering down, lowering her hands.

"I had a talk with my father, the Wind, and he… enlightened me, I need to learn more about you mortals before granting you my gifts. So come, we will wait for Xavier; I trust this mortal dwelling place must have a pantry of some sort. I am in the mood for what you mortals call martini," said Ororo walking towards the school.

Wanda stood still for a second and then began to follow. "Isn't that a drink? We're not allowed to drink alcohol, we're underage."

"Nonsense, the Goddess of the Storm is not bound by human law or rules, nor any mortal she chooses to grant her favor to, so show me where the pantry is before I choose to grant my favor to some other mortal."

"Wanda. What is the meaning of this?" asked Erik Magnus Lensherr, crossing his arms, slowly descending from the skies before them.

"Father… this… this is Ororo, Professor Xavier invited her to join the school and she just agreed to do just that," said Wanda, stopping her stride.

"Who are you mortal? Why do you stand in the way of the Goddess?" asked Ororo slowly frowning.

"Oh yes, I've… heard about you. Please, do continue, I will speak later with my daughter," said Magneto, bowing his head slightly.

Ororo looked at Magneto, as if she was trying to examine him, and then continued, grabbing Wanda's arm and allowing her to lead her to the kitchen.

The black car pulled over slowly, stopping right in front of the door. Professor Xavier told his driver to return in exactly forty-five minutes and stepped out of the car. As he did, his eyes fell on the large metal sign on top of the door. _"Frost Mental Asylum."_ He could not help it; a chill ran down his spine as a crow chirped in the distance; the place seemed like it was taken from an Edgar Allan Poe tale. He closed the car's door and walked the few steps separating him from the Asylum, ringing the doorbell. He looked through the metal doors, watching the solitary building atop the lonely hill, and he saw a woman walking through the front door and down the path towards him. He waited in silence, his eyes fixed on the blonde woman, and as she slowly walked towards him, she heard her voice in his mind.

"I do not agree with you Charles. You know this. She is not ready."

"_Emma, have you been shut into your asylum for so long you've forgotten the basic rules of society? First you say hello," _replied Charles Xavier without speaking.

"_Try to lighten things up as much as you want, but I tell you, she is a danger to herself and to others, she should not be taken from here," _answered Emma Frost as she opened the metal doors with a large heavy metal key.

"_We have new methods and new technology this time, it will be different," _said Charles.

"You are wrong and your students will pay the price for it," said Emma, speaking at last, holding the door open.

"Taking a leaf from Irene's book? You don't have precognitive abilities, Emma," replied Xavier.

"You look old, and tired," she said, hugging him.

"I was just about to say the same, did you read my mind?" said Charles with a smile in his face.

"How long has it been? Three? Four years?" asked Emma, wrapping her arm around Charles and leading him towards the building.

"Five and a half. You left my side just as I Erik and I decided to found our school. Since then all our meetings have been in the Astral Plane."

"You always seem younger and fitter when we meet in our minds," she said smiling.

"And you tend to look older than you really Emma. I've never understood why you dress like an eighty-year-old woman when you're barely thirty-two. Even in your mind you do this."

"We all have our secrets and phobias, you taught me that," she said, opening the front door of the building.

Charles Xavier smiled as he crossed the front door of the asylum, closely followed by its director.

"This is a big room," said Kitty Pryde, holding her duffel bag with both hands.

"All the rooms are like that, four or five guys to the same room. But this one is just Wanda's… and yours now," explained Bobby Drake.

"Should I wait for her to tell me which one is my bed?"

"Nah, just pick one, the red one must be hers, that girl is crazy about red."

Kitty saw one of the beds had red curtains around, as well as a red blanket on top of it, decorated with red and yellow pillows.

"Hope you enjoy your stay here in the school," said Bobby Drake, slowly closing the door.

Kitty Pryde sighed and began to look around. Suddenly her mind raced back to the front door, remembering the golden sign next to it. _Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters._ A chill ran down her spine. Her new life was about to begin.


	4. Chapter 4

Mutantkind pt IV of VI: Perspectives 

"I expected better," said Ororo, slowly landing on the grass. Her eyes fixed on the young mutants before her, lying on top of each other.

Charles Xavier could not suppress a smile, the child certainly knew how to use her powers.

"Is this what you wanted me to learn, Xavier? That your children are weak?" asked Ororo, crossing her arms.

"Hey! We're… not… can you please take your high heel from my back? It really hurts," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, looking into Wanda Lensherr's eyes.

"Sorry… ouch… Pete you're on my hair, Hank you better have a good explanation for having that hand there," said the young mutant girl, whose hair was trapped beneath the tall form of Piotr Rasputin and Henry McCoy.

Slowly the four teenagers untangled themselves and as they did, Professor Xavier decided to speak.

"This has proven to be a most interesting exercise. I asked you to simply restrain your new teammate, and you failed most miserably. Perhaps it is time to try a little teamwork this time."

"I fail to see the point of this exercise Xavier. These children cannot match the powers of a Goddess. Why do you want them to suffer once more such an indignity?" said Ororo frowning slightly.

"My dear, I am the educator here. Since this won't be much of a problem for you, can't you just amuse me?"

"Very well, but this is trying my patience," she replied, slowly levitating once more.

"Now, again, children try to bring Storm from the skies," said Professor Xavier, sitting on a fallen trunk. His lips stopped moving, but his students could still hear his words on their minds. _"Scarlet Witch, you need to create a hex that will follow a very specific command, concentrate. Colossus, Beast, Northstar, distract Storm until the hex is ready."_

"There are the codenames again," said Jean-Paul rolling his eyes upwards. The mutant speedster lifted his right hand, creating a massive burst of light in the direction of Ororo.

"Professor Lensherr explained it was for safeguarding our identities. We are to use said codenames whenever in battle. Comrade Beast, do I have your permission to try something?" asked Piotr Rasputin, organic metal covering his flesh, increasing his size and mass in seconds.

"Da my soviet brother-in-arms," said Henry McCoy, tightening his facemask.

"Remember you agreed," said Piotr smiling, as he sounded his knuckles.

Ororo gathered lightning in her hand, and swiftly moved his hand in front of her. Charging the air with electricity she dispersed Northstar's light effect, however, she was clearly surprised when she saw, coming from the light, the form of Henry McCoy, the Beast, lunging towards her.

"I assure you my lady this was not my intention," said Beast, his arms open as he flew towards Storm. He grabbed her tightly.

"Unhand me, you big ape!" said Storm, clearly angry at this maneuver. Her eyes flashed for less than a second, and a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, hitting Beast fully, making the teenager scream and release his prey.

"_Ororo do not allow him to fall, this is an exercise after all," _said Professor Xavier inside Storm's mind.

"_Get out of my head little man,"_ said Storm, whilst she conjured a small wind to prevent Beast from hitting the ground as he fell.

-- [ --

Not far from there, a solitary figure watched the scene in the woods surrounding the mansion. Erik Magnus Lensherr was standing alone in the large balcony, fully garbed in his combat uniform, a costume created of unstable molecules, which was as strong as armor and as flexible and pliable as the most comfortable set of clothes. In his hand rested his metallic helmet, while his gaze was clear upon Xavier's squads, and specially his daughter, Wanda. She had been such a disappointment. It pained him to see her; she looked so much like her mother. He focused his sight upon the so-called Goddess. The power this child exhibited was tremendous, and she seemed to be clearly in control of her abilities. Damn Xavier. He should have found her first, now she was just another one of _his_ students. The Pryde girl had been a major disappointment too.

Erik saw in silence as Wanda's hex finally came to fruition, and the nearby trees seemed to come alive, as their branches moved like whips, tightening around Storm's arms and legs, restraining her in mid-air. However he was distracted as he heard a voice behind him.

"Father, we are ready," said Lorna Lensherr, walking towards her father. The green haired mutant wore a costume similar to her father's, created from the same resilient fabric and sporting the same colors, red and purple.

"I know Lorna, I will be with you shortly," he said, slowly donning his helmet.

"Is everything alright father?" asked Lorna.

"Yes… do not worry," replied Erik Lensherr, turning to see his daughter and smiling.

-- [ --

"Everything's changing, isn't it?" asked Amelia Voght, wrapping her arms around herself, looking out the window towards the yard, where Charles Xavier was training his students.

"I thought that was the point of this school, to change the world, wasn't it?" replied Emma Frost, sitting in a comfortable armchair, her legs crossed. As she spoke she played with a pen, her eyes fixed on the woman before her.

"Psychiatrists. They always respond with a question," said Amelia Voght rolling her eyes. "I meant… there's something in the air, something that tells me a big change is coming, a time of strife and pain is upon us. I feel it on my skin, and I have no clue why."

"I thought you scheduled this appointment to talk about your marriage with Charles. Is that why you feel this? You feel isolated, separated from Charles, he spends more time with his children and with Cerebro than with you. Is that why you feel pain is coming? You expect he might divorce you?" Emma asked, her eyes slightly closed, smiling.

Amelia Voght exhaled, slowly turning around. "Yes. I fear what this school might to do to us. Before the school, Charles and I were happy, we were together, we were… and now… I'm lucky if I can spend with him an hour a week."

"No doubt you're concerned. And tell me, what are you willing to do to change this? To revert things?"

Amelia Voght opened her mouth and closed it twice, but when she was about to reply, the door to the downstairs study opened violently and a young boy stood there, his face pale and his breathing ragged.

"Professor Voght… come… now… you have to see this," Bobby Drake with difficulty in his voice.

"Bobby, what's going on?" asked Amelia Voght, clearly preoccupied. Her eyes flew to Emma, who answered her question.

"It's… a TV show? You're scared of a TV show, Robert? Perhaps Charles should schedule a session for each and every one of you kids."

"Please Professor Voght… you have to see this," he insisted, grabbing his teacher's hand and pulling her towards the door.

"Fine… let's… let's go," she said, following the child.

It didn't take long for them to arrive on the TV room. Amelia's eyes first fell on her students, the squad that was assigned to her. Sitting in a large three-part sofa she saw the young Russian girl known as Roulette, leaning her head slightly in her boyfriend's chest, the teenager known as Unus. Sitting in the floor next to them was Catseye, by far the youngest of her squad, who was transformed into her pink cat form. Slowly her eyes moved to the TV set, as Bobby Drake raised the volume with the remote control.

"What you propose then… is genocide? There is no better word for it," said a reporter, his eyes fixed on the man sitting before him.

"You must understand, these atrocities are not human, genocide means the extermination of a racial group. Mutants aren't human; mutants aren't a race. They are the children of Satan, demons spawned into the Earth to cause chaos and confusion. Must I remind you of the Atlanta case? The demon worked its way into a nice God fearing family and slaughtered them all in their sleep," said the man. Amelia Voght's eyes moved to the letters below his face, Reverend William Stryker she read.

"You mean last week's terrible murder of an entire family? A leak from the police claimed the youngest child could not be found, not even a small piece of her," said the reporter.

"Indeed. The demon had the appearance of this child, and when the time was right it destroyed the family, who was so important to the Lord. You might remember the father was a fellow minister, a man devoted to God. These demons walk among us, and the worst part of it is some even look like us. Because that is the way of the devil, to fool us with illusions and to empower his agents—" Amelia Voght grabbed the remote from Bobby's hand and turned off the television. Silence fell in the room for a few seconds, until Unus broke it, turning to see his Professor.

"Is that… is that the scene Professor Xavier visited? The one where he couldn't find the girl who did all that?"

"Yes," replied Amelia Voght with concern in her voice. "We… should've been ready for this. The word mutant is slowly becoming known. Erik said they would pin those murders on a mutant."

"But… didn't a mutant do them?" asked Roulette, removing her long blonde hair from her eyes.

"Yes… but that's not the point, Charles doesn't believe it was voluntary, the child must have had a violent manifestation of her powers, it has happened to many, even some of the kids who study here," explained Professor Voght.

"What do we do now Professor? Should we tell Professor Xavier about this? Could we try to find this girl?" asked Bobby Drake.

"Charles is trying to find her, but she seems to have vanished from Earth. Right now… let's not worry about this… it's almost time for our run in the Danger Room, so everyone change into your uniforms and let's meet in the Danger Room in five."

Her students moaned and argued, but slowly they got up and began to walk towards the elevator to the lower levels, and as Amelia Voght watched them she could not help feel a chill running down her spine. A sensation that increased when she saw Emma Frost standing on the entrance of the room, her eyes fixed on her with a grave expression in her face.

-- [ --

"Very well my children… very well," said Charles Xavier with a smile.

"Release me!" shouted Storm, clearly angered, lightning erupting all around her, while the skies turned darker.

Wanda Lensherr lowered her hands and slowly the tree branches untangled themselves, allowing Storm to escape her bonds.

"That was an indignity! How dare you humiliate me like that?" asked Ororo, her eyes flashing with fury as she levitated towards Xavier.

"It was you who agreed to the exercise, Ororo, must I remind you?" replied Xavier.

"You… you… have courage, to stand up to Goddess and try to teach her. I see now why you set this 'exercise', Xavier. You try to tell me to be more humble and to not underestimate my opponents. You never cease to surprise me, mortal," said Ororo.

"Cut the act, 'Goddess', you lost, deal with it" said Jean-Paul jokingly.

Ororo looked at Jean-Paul, her stare was colder than ice, and a freezing breeze enveloped the young Canadian mutant. Immediately she turned to face Xavier once more.

"I agreed to this exercise because I wanted to see what kind of education you could provide for me, but I can see you are still obsessed in belittling me and to convince me I am not who I am," she said with anger.

"Nothing could be farther from the truth. This exercise was just that, an exercise. I need to see the extent of your abilities, as well as the abilities of my students. And today was something to take notice, not every day four teenage mortals can best a Goddess, right?"

Ororo smiled slightly and then answered. "After she beat them single-handedly with ease and then lowered her power-level. In a real fight, they don't have a chance."

Wanda rolled her eyes at Ororo's words but said nothing. Suddenly, as she turned, she saw a young girl crying, leaning on a tree in the distance.

"Professor?" she said, pointing in the girl's direction.

Charles Xavier turned, his eyes could not truly distinguish who was there, crying, but his mind worked at great speed, and a quick telepathic probe told him it was the newest student, young Kitty Pryde. "Right. Class, you might dispose of the time as you see fit, except for you Ororo. Remember I told you about that friend of mine I wanted you to meet? She is expecting you in the study."

"Probably just another skeptic. I will endure your probes and tests until you finally see the light and the truth, mortal. But be warned, my patience is very finite."

"We've heard before… sheez, you need new lines," said Jean-Paul, grabbing Piotr's arm. "Come on, let's go into the woods, I want to see if I can fly again."

Professor Xavier did not follow his students voices as they separated, though he did watch them over, seeing Beast ran next to Storm, trying to talk to her, while Wanda walked behind them, glancing at the crying girl. After a few seconds, Xavier walked towards Kitty Pryde and sat next to her in the grass.

"You don't mind if I lean on this tree too, do you? It does seem to be the most uncomfortable place in my entire state," he said with a smile.

Slowly, Kitty Pryde lifted her eyes from between her arms, which rested on her legs. "You… you must be Professor Xavier… right?"

"Yes. And you must be Katherine, right? I am terribly sorry we have not met before; I tend to spend my time in the Cerebro room, looking for more children who might need our help. Might I inquire why are you crying?"

"I just… I just killed a boy," she said with fear, looking down.

"You killed a boy?" repeated Xavier, slowly reaching into the girl's mind.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it… I didn't know," she said, crying with more strength than before, hugging herself.

Charles Xavier slowly hugged the girl, as his telepathic powers examined her mind. He clearly saw what the girl had experienced several minutes ago in the gym. He saw through Kitty's eyes, as Professor Adler and Professor Niles conducted a simple game of dodge ball between their students. Charles Xavier saw the kids laughing and having fun, until the tall child-like Caliban lunged to the side, in order to dodge a ball. Kitty panicked as she saw the figure of the almost seven feet tall teenager falling towards her and she instinctively became intangible. Caliban fell on top of her intangible form, and as he did he screamed in pain, and he didn't move. Kitty saw the whole thing, and suddenly found herself standing intangible in top of the unconscious boy. Everyone was watching her in silence, until the voice of young Samuel Guthrie echoed through the gym.

"You killed him," he said simply.

"I… no… I… I'm sorry," stuttered Kitty. She remained still for a few seconds and then began to run, phasing through the walls of the gym to the grounds, running for several miles until she sat on the tree and continued to cry.

Charles Xavier immediately cut contact with the girl, while he continued to reassure her by hugging her. His mind raced towards the gym, and saw Caliban was sitting on the floor, rubbing the back of his head. After a quick examination of the boy, Xavier understood what had happened and he smiled.

"You didn't kill anyone Kitty, trust me on that," he said soothingly.

"I did… I saw him… I touched him in my ghost form and he died… I'm a ghost…" she sobbed.

"No you're not. And he didn't die. He was knocked unconscious though, it seems your intangible form disrupts electrical impulses, such as the ones our bodies have. You merely rendered him unconscious by disrupting his body's main electrical system, the spinal cord."

"He… he is not dead?" she said, slowly lifting her eyes.

"You have much to learn about your amazing abilities young Katherine. I trust that is why you decided to come to this school," said Professor Xavier, his blue eyes fixed on the girl's hazel eyes.

"Yes… I… I don't know… my powers are so weird," she said, looking down.

"Every child in this school thought that once or twice. You've been here for less than a day; it takes time to learn everything about your powers. Even I am still learning about mine, and about so very much. Every day I learn something new."

"Really? What did you learn today?" asked Kitty

"Among other things? That this _is_ the most uncomfortable place in my entire state," he replied with a smile.

Suddenly the skies darkened and wind increased around the mansion. Charles Xavier sighed, slowly standing up. He directed his eyes towards the study on the ground floor of the mansion and a massive bolt of lightning fell from the skies, destroying the window and creating a big hole in it, and soon he saw Ororo flying away from it at her topmost speed.

"Is that… is that Ororo?" asked Kitty; her eyes wide open, standing next to the Professor.

"Yes. That child is going to bankrupt us if she keeps destroying the school," he replied.

"She is funny. She told me that I have her protection, that I should be one of her priestesses," said Kitty as the Professor began to walk towards the school.

"Really? You share a room with her, don't you?"

"Yes, she was really mad about that at first, she said she deserved a room just to herself, but Wanda sort of moved her hands and Ororo calmed herself, soon after we were talking about clothes and music and things like that," explained Kitty.

"I see. Perhaps then it is better if you go after her, if she considers you a friend then she might respond better."

"Me? But… if she's mad… she might blast me away or freeze me or…"

"Katherine, Ororo would never harm a child, especially one she considers fit enough to be a priestess. You have nothing to worry; I will guide you to where she is. I must check on Emma, I believe she is the reason of this little outburst."

"O… ok then, I… I'll do it Professor," said Kitty lifting her face and puffing her chest.

Xavier smiled and then he continued to walk towards the school. It didn't take long to arrive at the study, where he found Emma Frost slowly rising from the ground, covered in dust, her hair clearly messed and her clothes tattered.

"I see your abilities as a psychiatrist only increase with the years," he said smiling as he walked through the hole in the wall.

"You are a madman Xavier, keeping that girl in this school. It's almost as bad as the one you took from my asylum. If it were me I'd keep her sedated and strapped on a bed," she replied, trying to clean her long skirt with her hand.

"And that is why you don't work on this school. Most of the time you prefer to solve problems by drugging those kids who have trouble controlling their abilities. Tell me, what did you learn?"

"She has amazing psychic blocks in her head. I couldn't pierce them at all. That's why she got mad, she knew I was trying to enter her mind."

"And what did you analytical mind find about what she told you before the 'incident'?" asked Xavier, removing a piece of wall from an armchair.

"She's desperate for contact. There are probable some very big traumas in her past, traumas that made her create this 'Goddess' personality. She sees herself above and separated from everyone else because she feels isolated and alone. She really needs a hug that girl," explained Emma, straightening her glasses.

"I see, it was as I thought then. It is good to have a professional confirm it," replied Xavier, sitting on the armchair.

"I don't get you Charles, with your powers you could learn everything there ever was from the best minds in the world, but still…"

"Are you telling me that is how you managed to make your stay at college a very short one?" he asked, but Emma did not reply. Xavier smiled and then continued. "What about the Struckers? Did you manage to talk to them?"

"Better yet," she said, walking towards her briefcase. She took a folder and threw it at Xavier, who was able to catch it with ease. "I got their SHIELD file. I had to move certain influences around, but I managed to get it, and then I enter their minds to see if it was true." A grave expression etched itself in Emma's face, and almost out of instinct she hugged herself. "They're worst than we thought. Before they even had mutant powers they were already abusing humans and torturing servants for fun. They were born in one of the richest families in all of Europe; they've had pretty much everything they ever wanted since they uttered their first word. You might not like my methods, but these two sick puppies deserve to be drugged until they die."

"You believe there is no way to rehabilitate them?" asked Xavier, looking at gruesome pictures of maimed people in the Struckers's file.

"It will not be easy, especially in this school, full with children. If they ever get loose and you can't stop them… I fear what they might do to the children," said Emma looking at Xavier.

For a second Professor Xavier watched his former pupil, their eyes fixed on each other, and then he lowered his head. "Very well. Take them to your asylum; I will speak with Forge to arrange for transportation."

"There is another matter I should discuss with you, Charles. It's about Amelia."

"I did not ask my wife why she insisted to have a private moment with you and I will not allow you to tell me what happened in said moment. I trust her to keep her secrets and her mind to herself," said Xavier dismissively, and Emma was only able to sigh at his response. After a brief moment she spoke again.

"What about Grey? Where are you keeping her now that you got her out of my hospital?"

"Jean Grey is currently residing in the Cerebro room, where she is being monitored by Forge and the school nurse, slowly they're bringing her out of the drug-induced sleep you had her in, and when she's ready I will speak with her."

"Jean Grey could do to your mind what the so-called Goddess did to this room," said Emma crossing her arms before herself.

"Yes, that is why I must talk to her and heal her mind before she does. Your drugs would not have been able to hold her for long," he replied, and received a cold look for an answer.

-- [ --

"O… Ororo? Are you… are you alright?" asked Kitty Pryde, slowly walking near the cliff. She kept her eyes on the African girl, who was levitating a few feet over the cliff, staring down at Salem Center, the town near the school, the town where she used to live.

"I could kill them all, you know? With a thought I could create the worst blizzard to ever hit the Earth and they would all die before they even knew it. With a thought," she replied, her eyes flashing angrily.

"But… you won't, won't you? I mean… you're a good Goddess… like Minerva, or Venus… not evil like I don't know, Hades or Loki," said Kitty, hugging herself.

"These names you speak… they make no sense. I know not these deities you speak of," said Ororo without turning around.

"Really? I could… I could show you all about them, I have like a zillion books about mythology, I so love the differences and similarities between pantheons and all," said Kitty, smiling brightly.

Slowly Ororo turned, flying towards Kitty and landing before her. "You know all this, even though you're a child? And you're willing to teach me about this?"

"Sure, I mean… if you want to… I always dreamed of meeting one of these gods… and now… well, you're the closest thing to it, right?"

Ororo smiled, placing a hand around the girl's shoulder. "Very well child, take me then, show me about my fellow Gods and their deeds."

-- [ --

Emma Frost smiled as she walked towards her car, and as she did her cell phone rang. She answered it, looking at Xavier and some of the teachers loading the Struckers twins into an aircraft in the distance.

"Yes. It is done. The file was great help," she said, her eyes fixed on Xavier as he spoke with Forge.

"Who do you take me for? If there's one thing I know how to do is to keep my mind closed in _his_ presence. Trust me, he suspects nothing. I'll see you at the Club in a couple of hours. We have reason to celebrate tonight," she said, closing the cell phone and placing it in her handbag, as she lifted her arm to wave goodbye at Xavier with a huge smile in her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

Mutantkind pt V of VI: Brotherhood 

"Brothers; that is what we are. Through our veins runs the same blood, the blood of mutantkind. Our abilities, our features, distinguish us, separates us from the norm. It is inevitable that we will suffer because of it. Humans fear and hate that which they don't comprehend, and they will not understand us, they will hate us, attack us, try to eradicate us. And we must be ready for it. We will be ready and we will be waiting."

Erik Magnus Lensherr's voice echoed through the empty Danger Room. His five students smiled and listened intently, even though it was not the first time their Professor made such a speech.

As silence reigned, Pietro Lensherr opened his mouth, his arms crossed before him, leaning against a wall. "Father, if you are so certain this will happen, why don't we strike first? Why don't we go after this humans who might do us harm and eradicate them instead?"

Erik smiled, his son's statement secretly made him proud. However, he did not speak his mind, but an answer he had rehearsed so much he had even convinced himself of its meaning. "Because we have hope. Charles has taught me through all these years that we must keep hope. The future hasn't occurred yet, though I am certain there will be a time when we won't have a chance, I'm willing to entertain Charles's hope. Which doesn't mean we won't be ready. One mutant life is worth a thousand human lives. If one mutant is hurt, if prejudice and fear hurt my brothers, then we will answer. Until then, we will train."

Erik Magnus Lensherr lifted his hands towards the Danger Room control booth. Using his control of magnetism he moved the switches and buttons, programming the environment to train his students.

All around them the scene began to change, the big empty metallic room began to shift and a dense jungle appeared all around them.

"Jungle?" asked Mortimer Toynbee, the young mutant known as Toad.

"This is new," replied Frederick J. Dukes, the Blob.

"Guys…" said Lorna Lensherr, Polaris, her eyes fixed on her father as he slowly levitated, glowing brightly before them. Her tone was final, she was calling her teammates to silence.

"This is a place Charles and I once encountered. We called it the Savage Land," explained Erik Lensherr. "No one knows about it, no one knows where it is, except for the two of us."

A terrible roar was heard in the distance, its power was enough to make Toad jump from Blob's shoulder into a nearby tree.

"You will each train here separately to improve the use of your powers, be ready for anything," Erik said, as he slowly disappeared.

"Father?" asked Pietro Lensherr, clearly surprised.

"Danger Room technology, father is shielding himself, making us see he's not there," said Lorna. Her eyes flashed brightly for a second and she continued to speak. "I see him… I can see the electromagnetic spectrum, I see him flying towards… a tower? He's beckoning me to follow," she said, slowly walking towards her father.

"Lorna wait," said John Proudstar, moving forward, trying to stop his girlfriend, but as he did, another roar was heard, and a second after a gigantic head appeared next to him. There was no mistake, it was a dinosaur. John recognized it, it was a velociraptor, and its open mouth was about to chew his arm. He moved quickly, grabbing the terrible jaws before him, using all of his strength to keep them open.

Another roar, and a couple more of velociraptors appeared behind Blob and Toad, attempting to eat them.

"Oh great, we're in Jurassic Park," said Pietro, rolling his eyes upwards and beginning to run fast towards his sister. "What do we do with the dinos?" he asked.

"Deal with them. I have to follow dad," she said, her eyes glowing as she continued to walk, as if she was in a trance.

Pietro looked at his sister for a second, and then he ran back towards his teammates, trying to help them against the terrible lizards.

-- [ --

"Are you sure about this?" asked Forge, stopping the school nurse, who was about to inject adrenalin to the young red-haired girl lying in a bed in the middle of the round empty room.

"Yes," said Charles Xavier, sitting in front of the only desk in the room, placing a strange looking helmet on his head. "I have to help her."

"Fine. Cecilia, as soon as you place this I want you out of this room, even your force field might not be enough to protect you," said Forge, releasing Cecilia Reyes's arm.

"Of course Professor, I will do what you ask me to," said the young woman in her early twenties. Slowly she pressed the syringe, a drop of sweat secretly falling through her forehead. She lowered her arm, leaving the empty syringe in the small table next to the bed. "I'll be just outside," she said, walking backwards towards the open door.

"You should go with her," said Charles Xavier.

"I'm not leaving you alone," said Forge, placing a cartridge in a gun.

The pressure around them began to increase exponentially. The sheet covering the young mutant girl began to move, as if a terrible wind had suddenly erupted in the closed room.

Cecilia Reyes saw, as the door closed before her, as the sheet flew upwards in a quick motion, and she saw the red-haired girl moving upwards.

Jean Grey screamed. Her eyes were white, seeing nothing and seeing everything, and she screamed louder. The bed suddenly exploded, as Jean began to levitate in the middle of the room. "They are coming! They will exterminate us! The birds will kill us!"

"_Jean," _said Professor Xavier, using his telepathic powers to enter the girl's mind, speaking directly to it, trying to soothe her with the power of his mind. _"No one is coming. You must calm yourself."_

"We are the sons of the Apocalypse! We are the offspring of the end! And we will die! From above and beyond they come and we will die!" she screamed, louder than before, tears falling from her eyes. She grabbed the sides of her head, feeling a pressure within. "No! You must listen! Don't silence me!" she screamed, knowing the old man was trying to calm her.

"Jean. Listen to me, these hallucinations you have, they have to stop, they are not real. Allow me to enter your mind fully, I can help you control this."

Forge watched in silence, aiming his tranquilizer gun towards Jean.

Jean Grey slowly turned in mid-air, facing Xavier. She had stopped screaming, but her eyes were crying even heavier than before, and she answered his words at last. "No."

The answer was immediate. Forge's gun slowly fell apart on his hand, and he found himself hurled against the only door in the room. Xavier's helmet was shattered in a million pieces and he felt a terrible pressure on his brain.

"Look at me," she said lifting her hand towards Xavier, who was lying on all fours on the ground. She released her telekinetic powers; lifting Xavier and making him levitate on front of her. "I am telling the truth. The birds are going to kill all of us. You must listen." Her voice was deeper than thunder, and the message echoed through the room, and through Xavier's mind.

"Nggh," mumbled John Proudstar, making a terrible effort to keep the jaws open, while stepping on the terrible beast's feet, stopping him from attacking with its claws. "Freddie…" he said.

"Just a sec," replied Blob, as one of the velociraptors jumped towards him. The massive half-a-ton teenager just stood still, smirking. The dinosaur crashed into his stomach, and it bounced, finding it impossible to harm the boy. Frederick Dukes smiled as the raptor fell on the ground, and he saw as Toad spat a strange resin at the other dinosaur. The resin hardened upon contact, covering its entire face.

"Dude, that's gross," said Blob, as he turned around to see Proudstar, who threw the raptor he was wrestling towards him. Blob braced himself, and as the raptor hit his stomach he moved forward, causing it to bounce even further away.

"Because bouncing lizards in your stomach is so normal, isn't it?" said Toad, leaning atop a tree, his long tongue floating around as he spoke.

Suddenly a gust of wind erupted around them, surrounding them, lifting the dirt in the ground. As the wind blew they heard several raptors screaming, and moving away. The wind stopped as suddenly as it started, and everyone's eyes fell on Pietro Lensherr.

"Pay attention to the job at hand, there are like five more hidden in this awful jungle," he said, his brow slightly furrowed.

"And so spoke our esteemed de facto leader," said Toad, jumping to the ground.

"He's right," said John Proudstar, sounding his knuckles. "Where's Lorna?"

-- [ --

Lorna Lensherr followed the hidden shape of her father along the electromagnetic spectrum. She arrived before a magnificent tower made entirely of metal, and slowly her father appeared next to her, staring at the tower.

"This is going to be an exercise we have never tried before, Lorna. I want you to dismantle this tower, which is two miles high and is composed of strange alien metals, not the ones we are so intimately familiar with," he said, placing his arms in her shoulders.

"I shall do my best, father," she replied, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

Magneto could feel the power of her daughter, slowly rising from within her, surrounding her in a protective cocoon. And slowly, Polaris began to levitate.

-- [ --

"I am sorry child," said Professor Xavier, unable to move, hanging in mid air.

"You will be sorry if you do not believe me. This is what await us," Jean Grey said, lifting her hands. Images coalesced in the air between them, out of thin air, her own nightmares and thoughts given physical form, a terrible display of telepathic powers.

Charles Xavier opened his eyes widely. He could not believe the level of the girl's abilities. Even though she had spent the last six years sedated and strapped to a bed, her powers had continued to grow within her, to expand themselves beyond all imagination. He tried hard not to think, and to focus his mind on the images she was showing him. Spaceships, firing at each other; birds of human-sized shapes crashing against people, killing them with their claws, their beaks red with blood. Destruction, explosions, maimed humans; all littered the entire Cerebro Room. He knew he had to stop her.

Jean's eyes continued to cry, but slowly, the tears became red, and blood poured from her nostrils as well. Her eyes were fixed on her images, on the terrible birds that killed and maimed and destroyed. And as she pulled the images from her own mind, she felt Xavier talking to her, and slowly moved her head towards him, looking over her shoulder.

"I am sorry," said Xavier. With great effort, the premiere telepath in the entire world used the entirety of his mutant powers, sending a massive psionic bolt towards Jean Grey's mind.

The result was immediate. Jean grabbed each side of her head, but it was futile. Her eyes turned white, and she collapsed almost instantly, moving backwards, creating a big arc as she slowly fell to the ground. And when she hit the ground, both Xavier and Forge were released and the images faded all around them, and the near darkness of the Cerebro Room returned.

Xavier panted, he was exhausted, and when he tried to stand he fell to the ground, and he decided to remain there, trying to regulate his breath.

"That went well… didn't it?" said Forge, sitting and leaning against the door. "Now what?"

"Now… we restrain her… I… know now what to do," he said.

-- [ --

"Focus Lorna, I know you can do this," Erik Lensherr said, crossing his arm and watching his child.

Lorna Lensherr allowed her magnetic powers to flow. Like her father she had complete control over the electromagnetic forces, allowing her to manipulate all forms of metal in whatever manner she chose. She could feel the alien metal before her, but she just couldn't get a lock on it, she couldn't truly control it. And then there was the voice of her boyfriend in her head; she could not stop thinking about him. And, as she flew in front of the tower, concentrating hard, she realized what was truly happening.

"The trick lies in correcting the sequences within your brain, to feel the presence of the ferrous materials, to adjust the frequency on which your powers work," said Magneto.

"No. It is irrelevant. I don't care about this tower, and neither do you. I cannot be here concentrating on this stupid tower when my teammates might be in danger. I will return to deal with this later if we survive," she said simply, opening her eyes and looking directly at her father below her. Without another word she began to fly at her topmost speed back to the clearing, back to her friends.

And Magneto smiled as he saw his daughter making the choice he had expected her to.

-- [ --

"Dude, that is still gross," said Blob as the last velociraptor fell under Toad's hard resin, tightly wrapped around its jaws.

"Keep saying that and I'll spit you with it Freddie," said Toad, falling from a tree next to his friend.

"Knowing me, I'll just eat it," replied Blob, and both friends laughed.

"That's all of them, right?" said John Proudstar, throwing an unconscious raptor towards another pair of fallen raptors; he had beaten the beast to submission by repeatedly punching it in the snout.

"I can't see or hear anymore," said Pietro, stopping next to him, lifting the light-blue sunglasses he wore when he ran.

"Oh great, I just made a fool of myself in front of dad while you took care of things. That's just great," said Lorna, slowly landing in the middle of the clearing, green energy flowing around her.

The ground seemed to shake for a second, and then it stopped, but a second afterwards it happened again, and they heard a terrible roar coming towards them.

"Looks like you came back just in time, sis," said Pietro, lowering his glasses again as a T-Rex appeared over the trees.

"Great. Let's do this together," she said, standing on the middle of the team, her teammates forming themselves behind them as she lead them towards their enemy.

-- [ --

"Barriers? Lower her powers?" said Forge. Thirty minutes had passed since the incident in the Cerebro Room, and he stood next to a bed in the infirmary. Charles Xavier sat before Jean Grey, who laid on the bed, unconscious.

"It is the only way. I must enter her mind and severely reduce her power levels. Maybe even block her telepathy all together. We will not be able to deal with her psychologically if she can destroy our minds when she doesn't like what she hears," answered Xavier, placing his hands on each side of her head.

"Excuse me, Professor, but I think we should contact with a specialist or something, like Dr Frost. She might have some insight about this matter," said the school nurse, Cecilia Reyes, as she monitored Jean's vital signs.

"Cecilia, I understand your worries, but there is no better authority on Earth about telepathic powers than myself. I know what I'm doing," said Professor Xavier, lowering his head, aligning his forehead with the girl's, and closing his eyes. Slowly he entered her mind, a landscape similar to the images she had created in Cerebro, and he felt chaos and despair. "This is going to take a lot of time," he said to himself, as his astral self coalesced inside the girl's mind.

-- [ --

"Wow, they look so cool," said Bobby Drake, his eyes directed to the entrance of the Cafeteria. Professor Lensherr's squad had just entered the room, and all eyes fell on them. Polaris walked on front, closely followed by her boyfriend and her brother, and Toad and Blob on the back. Unlike all the other students, they were still wearing their purple and red training uniforms, walking slowly towards the counter.

"Are they allowed to wear those out of the Danger Room? I thought we were supposed to use regular clothes when we're not training," said Kitty Pryde, as slowly as she could, moving before he plate towards Bobby who sat on front of her.

"WE are not allowed to wear our uniforms when we're not training, but they… they can do whatever they want. They are just the best students ever, and the coolest ones. I can't wait until Professor Lensherr takes someone else into his Brotherhood… I am so auditioning for that."

"Brotherhood?" asked Kitty.

"The squads have names, well, unofficial names we choose for ourselves, Toad there used to be one my squad, he used to be one of us Paragons," said Bobby Drake, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"What's our name?" said Kitty to the girl sitting next to her.

"We are the ones with no name, we need no name, we simply are," said Jean-Marie Colbert, placing another card before her. She had not even looked at her lunch, she kept her gazed down, placing a tarot card next to the other, one after the other, reading the future. "There is going to be trouble soon," she added.

"No name? Our team doesn't have a name?" asked Kitty. She looked down her table, at the other kids in her squad. Next to Tarot was Caliban, who had no real name. He was over 6' 10" and had the mind of a five year old, and no one knew where he came from. Sitting across him was Darwin, the kid who could adapt to anything, she knew he had a name, but he was so much more comfortable being called Darwin that he had barely mentioned his real name. Kitty had not yet chosen her codename, and Professor Adler, her squad leader, had predicted she would pass through several choices before finding the one she truly felt good with, a road she was meant to take.

Trying not to think about it, she heard every student mumbling and whispering as the Brotherhood passed between them.

"My fellow students!" said Toad suddenly, climbing to Blob's shoulders. "Today we conquered the past!" he said. Several students cheered and smiled. "Gather round as I tell you our most exquisite adventure, as we moved through the darkest of jungles to defeat the most terrible of beasts," he said, almost glancing towards Henry McCoy, who was concentrating on a book and pretending not to look at him.

"Yeah, come over if you want to hear how we trashed a couple of T-Rexes," said Blob, sitting on the ground in the middle of the cafeteria. Several of the youngest students ran from their tables towards them, taking their food with them, anxious to hear the tale.

Kitty followed Bobby Drake with her eyes as he ran towards them, converting himself into ice and creating an ice slide, moving swiftly over the crowding students. For a second she thought of joining them, but when she saw none of her squad had left the table she decided to stay as well. And two seconds later it happened. Thunder broke inside the Cafeteria. Such was the power of the natural phenomena that every student shuddered and jumped in their seat, and Kitty saw Ororo was walking towards her. Thunder broke again when she arrived at the table, and she spoke a single word. "Away."

Caliban was clearly frightened, almost on the brink of tears, and Darwin took his hand and slowly lead him away, trying to calm him, while Tarot finished packing her cards and left.

"Hi Ororo, you didn't need to do that. They are my teammates… they're good people," said Kitty, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"I have no time to suffer children, Katherine, and besides, I wanted to speak with you," she said, placing a book in the table before her young friend and roommate.

"What be this? This page is not part of the book, and it refers to a band of musicians… doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it's a flyer, they are the Marauders, pretty popular… some people say they are mutants, like us," said Kitty, but then she heard a faint thunder and corrected herself, "I mean, like most students here, like me."

"I see. Are they good? I have not heard any music since arriving at this place. In Africa I had scores of musicians playing music in my honor while I visited their villages, they worshipped me with music created solely for me, and no one could hear it if I did not approve," Ororo said reminiscing.

"They are more than good, they are the coolest band ever, I have a couple of cds up there, if you want to we can listen to them," said Kitty, smiling.

"What's a CD?" asked Ororo confused, while Kitty rolled her eyes upwards.

-- [ --

"Yo, Beaubier, did you hear? We beat a T-Rex. What did you guys do? Pick sunflowers in the garden?" asked Pietro Lensherr, grabbing a chair next to the young mutant.

"Professor Xavier is the foremost expert on mutantkind, comrade Lensherr. He knows how to train us," said Piotr Rasputin, grabbing his fork rather forcefully.

"I didn't ask you, tin can, I asked your boyfriend," said Pietro, smiling.

"And I am eating and cannot talk to you," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, trying not to look.

"What do you want Pietro? I hate it when you come to gloat here about your training," said Wanda, leaving her sandwich in her plate.

"I just wanted to see if Northstar here is willing to be defeated again in another race, all that training just left me wanting to do some running," he said, his eyes fixed on Jean-Paul.

"Jean-Paul has nothing to prove to you," replied Piotr, doing an effort to not change to organic steel.

"I can speak for myself Piotr. And I will take the challenge so I can erase that stupid smirk off your face. Last time you only beat me by a millisecond, this time you won't be so lucky," said Jean-Paul, standing up.

"Great, see you in the entrance to the woods," he said, blinking one of his eyes, and he was gone in the same time it took everyone else to blink.

"I hate that boy," said Piotr, as he saw Jean-Paul running at top speed behind him. "I'm sorry Wanda, I know he is your brother, but he is very hateful."

"Don't tell me, I've had to put up with him ever since I was born. He's insufferable," said Wanda, eating her sandwich, her eyes fixed on Lorna, who was laughing as Blob and Toad continued to tell their tale.

-- [ --

Erik Magnus Lensherr walked through the infirmary doors. He arrived just in time as Charles Xavier stood up from his seat next to Jean Grey's bed.

"Did you do it?" asked Erik, closing his eyes and frowning.

"Yes. I know you did not want me to, but I assure you, there was no other choice. Jean's mind is too unstable to handle her powers. I've left a modicum of telekinesis available to her, and as her therapy advances I can reduce the other barriers and allow her to use the full extent of her powers."

"I trust you Charles, I know you're doing the right thing. It just doesn't sit right with me that you're limiting a mutant's powers, our powers are everything, it defines who we are," said Erik, his eyes fixed on Charles.

"Our choices define who we are Erik, our powers are just part of us, a tiny part, not the whole," Charles corrected his friend, smiling.

"Will you stop playing the Professor? Always trying to lecture me," replied Erik with another smile.

"Come, let's go to our study for some brandy, I really need it after today," said Charles, placing a hand in his best friend's shoulder.

-- [ --

With passion he kissed his lover, pushing him against a wall, touching his lover's round firm ass as he did, biting his lips and kissing him over and over.

"God, I needed that," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, his arms wrapped in Pietro Lensherr's body, who kept pushing him against the lake cottage's wall.

"I bet your boyfriend doesn't kiss you like that," said Pietro with a smile.

"You know he doesn't… I love that piercing in your tongue, it really spices things up," said Jean-Paul, kissing Pietro again.

"Want to see something that will spice even more things up?" he said. Slowly he reached into his pocket and removed a set of keys.

"Keys? You found your dad's keys to the cottage?" said Jean-Paul opening his eyes in surprise.

"Yes I did," Pietro replied with a smile.

"Great… no more leaves in my underwear," replied Jean-Paul, kissing Pietro and leading him towards the cottage door.

-- [ --

"This songs are interesting, I did not know music could be stored in such a small device," said Ororo, holding an mp3 player in her hands.

"Yeah, it's not the same as seeing them in person, but it's still good, their music rocks," said Kitty, her legs crossed as she sat on her bed in front of Ororo.

"Then we must go and see them live, this… flyer says they'll be playing in New York's Central Park in a week. If you know where this place is we should go," said Ororo looking at the Marauders' flyer.

"We can't. I doubt Professor Lensherr will allow us to go to a concert, I doubt they'll even let me think the word concert, I'm only fourteen," said Kitty.

"And? You enjoy this music, you should be allowed to listen to your band in person," said Ororo, removing the earphones carefully from her ears.

"It's not easy, they don't allow children of my age to go to this sort of thing," said Kitty.

"What sort of thing?" asked Wanda Lensherr as she entered the room she shared with Ororo and Kitty.

"A concert. Have you heard of this Marauders? I like their music, and so does Katherine, but she says we cannot go see them in person," said Ororo.

"Oh right, I love them, and so do Jean-Paul and Henry… everyone loves them, they're mutants aren't they?" asked Wanda, sitting in Kitty's bed with her new friends.

"See? It's settled then, if everyone loves them, we will go, my winds will carry us to this place," said Ororo.

"You mean we're going to escape the school in the middle of the night to go see a band?" said Wanda, opening her eyes. "I love you!" she added, hugging Ororo.

The Goddess smiled at the sudden display of her friend. "Settled then, prepare yourself for a night in the city my friends, a week from now, we leave the school to have fun."

_Kitty could not help but feel a wave of excitement rushing through her body, at the same time a wave of fear made her shudder. Was she really going to go along with them and start breaking school rules so soon after starting term? She smiled when she knew the answer to her doubts was yes._


	6. Chapter 6

Mutantkind pt VI of VI: The X-Men 

"It has been a week already Charles. A week and no visible signs of improvement," said Erik Magnus Lensherr, crossing his arms while he leaned his back against the front of his desk, his brow was frowned and he was clearly in a bad mood.

"That helmet makes you irritable," replied Charles Xavier, his eyes fixed on a long letter in his desk, scanning through it while he spoke. "The changed have been significant, I assure you. Jean Grey will be a normal girl once she wakes up."

"Once you allow her to wake up," Erik corrected his friend, "this new psychic therapy technique you're developing… I am not comfortable with it. How can you be certain that the girl will retain what you teach her in the astral plane once she is surrounded by thousands of different stimuli?"

"Erik, I have a very vivid imagination," said Charles, lifting his eyes at last, seeing his best friend garbed in his training uniform, a recent custom of his, "I assure you that I can perfectly replicate the study and a myriad of other environments for my sessions with Jean. She would not be put off by anything when she wakes up. In her mind, our sessions are real, she doesn't know it is all happening in her head."

"Regardless of how vivid your imagination might be Charles, I am still concerned. We do not know how she will react when she find herself in a bed, not to mention several years older than when she went to 'sleep'. Are you certain your barriers will hold?"

"Why all this second guessing, Erik? It is most unlike you. Your behavior has been changing lately and not in a favorable way. You've taken to use that costume more and more often, would you like to talk about anything?" asked Charles, interlocking his fingers before him.

Erik Magnus Lensherr did not answer immediately, after a few seconds he looked out the window, moving slightly away from his desk, his eyes fixed on the moon. "There is a change… a change in the Earth's Electromagnetic field. It is… complicated to explain. Things aren't what they used to be, something is affecting the Earth, I… I don't know what it might be and it upsets me. I can't pinpoint the location of this disturbance."

"A disturbance in the force," said Xavier with a smile. "You think it might be a mutant?"

"Possibly, but after our family to procure the Whedon girl… I am uncertain whether we should keep trying to find young mutants," Erik replied, removing his helmet at last, placing it gently on his desk.

"It wasn't your fault Erik, we've talked about it," said Charles.

"If I had moved faster, if I had been stronger, I might've reached her house before she killed her family and fled in fear. I need to know more about my own powers Charles. I don't feel in control."

"And what do you plan to do?" asked Charles, his eyes fixed on his friend's.

"I might leave the school for a while, I need to search the origin of this disturbance. I need to do this alone," said Erik, staring at his best friend.

"I understand," replied Xavier. He let out a long sigh and then he continued to read his letter. "Do you know when you will be leaving?"

"Not yet, but soon. There are things that I must see to here still," replied Erik, grabbing his helmet again and looking at it, an odd smile etching on his face.

-- [ --

Jean Grey opened her eyes. It wasn't easy to focus, there was a light right above her. She sat on her bed, slowly hugging herself. She was in a hospital, an infirmary, she didn't know. She didn't care. She jumped out of her bed and quickly got under it, her eyes scanning the room. She was alone, there was no one around and she could hear no one around. She instinctively grabbed each sides of her head. No one was talking, there were no words on her head. How could it be? The voices had always been there. She was able to hear her mother's voice, her father's voice, her teacher's, the doctors. Everyone near hear was speaking to her, always, even when they weren't in the same room, even when they weren't moving their lips. The silence was frightening. It scared her. She was about to cry when she realized her head was uncovered. She knew she was in danger. She frantically looked all around, mumbling incomprehensible words until she sag a plastic bag on top of a counter. She lifted her hand towards it, careful not to leave the protection of the bed, and the bag began to float. Several medicine bottles fell from it, but Jean used her telekinesis to gently put them on the counter, she didn't want to make a noise. Slowly the bag flew towards her and she grabbed with hurry, placing it above her head. It wasn't enough, the plastic bag wasn't going to protect her enough. She looked around and found a metal basin on the nearby bed. She frowned a little but it was the best thing she could do at the moment, She lifted her hand again, allowing her telekinetic power to flow and lifted the basin, placing it upside down. Thankfully it was empty and it looked clean. The basin flew towards her hand and after a quick look she placed it on her head. She smiled, sighing relief. And then it happened. She heard a voice, faint at first, but it was growing. Someone was near, someone was whispering very near. She felt curious. Slowly she crawled from under the bed and walked towards the door, her eyes fixed on a small window on it. She hesitated, there was more than one voice, but she was very curious about it; she had never heard a whisper before, the voices in her head never whispered. Slowly she moved towards the window, her eyes moving slowly, trying to remain out of sight.

"Why are we walking down this ugly aisle? It reeks, I hate hospital smell," said Jean-Paul Beaubier, holding Piotr Rasputin's hand as they walked next to their friends.

"Keep your voice down." Whispered Wanda Lensherr, placing a finger in front of her lips. "We're using this corridor because no one comes this way at this hour. And it's not as dangerous as the other ones."

"Trust Wanda to know the best way to break school rules, young Katherine. It never ceases to amaze me how she can slither through Professor Forge's wondrous security measures," said Henry McCoy, lowering his voice as he walked upside down through the ceiling.

"You scare me," said Kitty, lifting her head to see Henry McCoy.

"I must ask you to walk like a real person, ape-boy, if your foolishness stops us from leaving I will be most displeased," said Ororo, crossing her arms as she walked in the back of the line.

"Please, Stormy, you can address me by my given name, my dear Goddess. Still I shall fulfill your orders with the swiftest of motions and I assure you it will go unnoticed by the authorities of our beloved institution," said Henry McCoy, jumping from the ceiling next to his friends.

"Call me Stormy again and I shall rain my fury down upon your abnormally large extremities, Henry," said Ororo hiding a smile. As they walked, Ororo could feel something strange in the air. She stopped, while the others continued to walk. Her eyes scanned the empty corridor, and she saw a pair of bright green eyes, barely visible behind a metal basin behind a window. Ororo's eyes flashed like lightning, her face inscrutable and cold, and the eyes rushed back down, hiding in fear. Ororo smiled, the spy had been frightened. She lifted her head towards the others, Wanda had managed to open a window. Her smile even broader she moved towards them, her eyes becoming white as she did, wind raising behind her, moving her hair.

Jean was crouching next to the door. The tall black girl had scared her. Her eyes flashed like lightning! How was she able to do that? Curiosity took the best of her and she slowly returned to her window. She opened her bright green eyes as much as she could, she couldn't really believe what she was seeing. The black girl had began to levitate, her feet slowly moving away from the floor, and she saw the other started to rise as well next to her. She laughed when she saw the girl dressed in red trying to keep her miniskirt from lifting. The six teenagers began to fly, and Jean knew it was all the black girl's doing. Slowly they moved out, leaving the corridor through the open window. She did not know what drove her at the moment, curiosity perhaps, but she didn't think, she merely acted. She opened the door and rushed down the corridor towards the open window. Her eyes fixed on the teenagers, flying towards the moon. Her eyes flashed for a second, a smile etching on her face. She tightened the basin on her head, an slowly began to levitate, following them as best she could, erratically flying thanks to her telekinetic powers.

-- [ --

The window remained open. The powerful winds created by Ororo had not touched it, nor had them closed it. A strange mist formed itself behind the window, inside the building. The mist coalesced into the form of two women, a young woman of bright orange-red hair and a blind elder woman, her face obscured by a dark hood.

"Are you sure about this, Irene?" said Amelia Voght, her eyes fixed on the errant students.

"It is the way it should be, these children are our only hope. Out of all of mutantkind, only those seven will prevent the impending catastrophe. I have seen it," replied Destiny. Though her eyes could not see, she still lifted her head, the moonlight bathing her old withered face.

"I trust you, but still… allowing students to fly away in the middle of the night, letting them go by their own… it's not something Charles would approve," said Amelia, crossing her arms.

"Go to your husband, Amelia," said Destiny closing the window. "He will have need of you tonight."

Amelia Voght frowned, she did not reply. Slowly she grabbed the second panel, helping the elderly woman to properly close the window.

-- [ --

Remy Lebeau smiled as he buttoned his shirt. He could hear the crowd roaring and her heart beat slightly faster. He gave one last look at the naked girls in his bed, reminding himself of what a great time he just had. When he smiled at them the girls almost fainted. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. Someone knocked on his door.

"It's open Kurt," he said, still staring at the girls, who were both trying to get his attention by showing off as much of their bodies as they could.

Kurt Wagner entered his friend's suite. It was a mess, there were clothes everywhere, his eyes moved to the bed and he slowly moved his head sideways, Remy never changed. "You know Mr. Essex told you not to do this sort of things before the recital, you need to be in you best form to sing out there."

"Kurt my friend, we weren't singing her, although we did some beautiful music in that bed, didn't we ma petites?" he said, grabbing both girls hands and kissing them in succession. The girls giggled as he did.

"Fine, but when he decides to replace you remember it was your doing, ja?" said the German blue-furred mutant as he walked closer to his friend. Both young mutants wore similar outfits, a long white shirt and tight leather pants. Kurt's tail fluttered behind him as he extended his three-fingered hand to his friend. "Ready?"

"Mas oui mon ami," said Remy, grabbing Kurt's hand. As he did, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared in their stead, leaving an intense smell of sulfur and brimstone behind.

-- [ --

There were roughly two hundred and fifty thousand persons gathered in Central Park for one of the biggest pop-rock shows of the decade. The gathered had enjoyed the performances of renowned artists such as Bon Jovi, Madonna and the rising sensation Lila Cheney. The crowd roared in anticipation to the final act. The lights suddenly went out and the crowd gasped. An explosion of sound erupted loudly after a brief moment of silence and the crowd roared again. A light fell on top of the drums, as he continued his solo, a hollow voice could be heard.

"Scott Summers," it said, and the crowd chanted his name as he banged the drums.

The slim teenager was focused on his music, his eyes shielded behind a pair of thick red sunglasses. Several teenagers sported similar-looking sunglasses in the crowd, waving their arms and showing their posters of Scott, their idol.

"Alex Summers," said the deep voice, and an electric guitar joined the drums, while a white light fell on top of a long-haired blond teenager, playing his guitar.

The girls screamed at the top of their lungs as the good looking guitarist smiled at the crowd.

"Anna Marie," added the voice. The drums and the guitar suddenly stopped, as a piano began to sound. Slowly from below the stage, a piano appeared, moving upwards while smoke rose around it. A young woman of bright brown hair with a white streak on her front played the piano, an intense sad music. Her face was pale white, and her lips were as black as the long torn dress she wore.

While the music reached an unmistakable crescendo the voice said simple "Remy Lebeau and Kurt Wagner". A puff of blue-purple smoke exploded in the center of the stage, as the guitar and the drums joined the piano. Forming out of the smoke, Remy Lebeau smiled, grabbing the microphone before him, while his friend Kurt started to play his electric guitar, joining the others.

"Different…" whispered Remy, his lips almost kissing the microphone, and the crowd roared as he began to sing the group's most popular song.

-- [ --

Ororo Munroe's heart jumped a little. She tried to not let the others know. Her eyes were fixed on the handsome teenager as he sang. She didn't truly cared about the songs, she had just liked him since she had seen the flyer in Kitty's book. She was uncertain why this boy's handsome features had caught her attention so. She was a Goddess, why would a mere mortal distract her so?

"The humidity's unbearable here… it's really hot today, isn't it?" said Wanda, looking at Ororo from the corner of her eye.

Ororo lifted her eyebrows in surprise and a cool breeze enveloped the six of them and several people around them. They were almost in the back of the crowd, but there were large screens around the stage so they could see clearly what was happening.

"He is so dreamy," said Kitty, here eyes goggling.

"Which one? They're all yummy, except the one in the costume. I don't understand why people think that pretending to look like a monster is cool," said Jean-Paul, moving slightly forward.

Piotr cleared his throat rather loudly, he didn't like it when Jean Paul talked about other men.

"The implications of their songs are astounding. If teenage boys and girls truly understand what they are saying it could really help mutant-human relations," said Henry McCoy, sliding his glasses up his nose.

-- [ --

As the first song ended and the crowd roared louder than ever Remy Lebeau moved his arms, trying to calm his fans.

"So, New York, how are we tonight?" he asked and the crowd roared even louder. He tried to speak again, but the microphone didn't respond. A strange sound erupted from it, causing every person gathered to hide their ears. A harsh voice was heard over the speakers as security guards moved through the stage, rushing to the band's side.

"Freaks. You are nothing but freaks. Mutants are unnatural, mutants should all die," said the voice. Everyone was confused, but then several speakers exploded, followed by a sound tower in the middle of the crowd. People began to scream in fear as more explosions happened around them.

"Kill the mutants," said a man from the dj box. The man was dressed like a soldier, fully in black, and he had a gun in his back. Several soldiers appeared in the middle of the crowd, some rushing from the trees, others jumping down from the stage's lights with ropes. And they began to shoot towards the band.

"Kill the mutants, kill those who worship them," said the man with the microphone ash the soldiers began to shoot everything.

"We cannot allow this," said Ororo. A burst of lightning fell from the sky, impacting on her and her friends. The lightning rearranged the molecules of their clothes, turning them into facsimiles of their training costumes, costumes of bright yellow and blue, with masks covering part of their faces, hiding their identities.

"Northstar get their guns, Scarlet Witch lessen the explosions, Beast, Colossus, Shadowcat, see the people exit in an orderly fashion," she said, as she began to levitate towards the stage, conjuring powerful winds as the skies turned darker and thunder roared in the distance.

"Why is she giving orders?" asked Jean-Paul, as his teammates were still surprised at their costumes. "Why is the crazy girl with a God complex telling us what to do?"

"Because she is a crazy girl with a God complex, now shut up and do what she says," replied Wanda, moving her hands towards a big fire that was consuming a wooden tower with speakers.

Northstar frowned and ran towards the closest soldiers, running at his topmost speed. All around him the people screamed and ran in all directions, frightened. Several people fell around him, dead. He could not help but feel a strong surge of hatred towards the soldiers, and as he removed the weapons from their hands he began to savagely beat them, leaving them unconscious.

Beast reached a soldier and grabbed his gun, snapping it half and punching him in the face. "I was enjoying the show."

Colossus' skin turned into organic steel, as he ran towards a pair of soldiers who were shooting the crowd. The bullets bounced off him, harmlessly moving towards the sky or the ground. Hatred etched on his face as he grabbed the soldiers' guns and destroying them in his powerful fists.

Shadowcat? She didn't have a codename, why did Ororo call her Shadowcat? She was freaking out, she couldn't do it. She tried hard not to think. She phased, as people ran through her and around her. She was overwhelmed by the situation, she was uncertain what to do, how she could help. And then she saw a girl her age had fallen nearby, and one of the soldier was pointing his gun at her. She ran, as fast as she could, phasing through the people. She concentrated as she reached the girl, touching her at the same time as the gun shoot its first bullet. She didn't know how she did it, or why she had thought it might happen, but when she touched the girl, both of them phased, both of them turned immaterial, and the bullet harmlessly sunk in the dirt. Kitty raised her eyes, seeing the bewildered, confused look on the soldier, as Northstar appeared out of nowhere and punched him several times in the face, removing his gun.

Storm arrived on the stage. The security guards were dead, and the only person alive on it was Remy Lebeau. She couldn't see the rest of the band, she didn't know where they were. Five soldiers aimed their guns at Remy and attempted to execute them. Ororo did not hesitate a powerful wind blew towards the soldiers, a wind as strong as a hurricane. The soldiers couldn't even lift their hands. The wind increased its rage and the soldiers fell to the stage. "Murderers. You will pay for this," she said in anger. A lightning bolt fell from the skies, impacting on the two soldiers who were still conscious. The soldiers screamed, their flesh burned and their guns destroyed, and they fell like their comrades.

"My angel, je suis magnifique," said Remy Lebeau, smiling at Ororo. Suddenly, a cloud of blue-purple smoke appeared next to him, and Kurt Wagner stepped out of it, grabbing Remy's arm. He looked at Storm for a second, and then both teenage boys disappeared.

Storm looked at the spot for a second, smiling. He had spoken to her. She turned around, watching the crowd. Part of the stage was on fire, as were the sound towers. One of the gigantic screens was about to fall. Her eyes turned whiter and rain began to pour. She moved towards the screen, creating winds to hold it in place. She wondered if there were also people on the other side. As she concentrated she failed to see the leader of the soldiers was lifting his gun towards her back. The leader was about to shoot, when he received a blow to his head, he still managed to press the trigger.

Ororo turned, a bullet had grazed her shoulder slightly. She turned and she saw the leader of the soldiers, on the ground, a metal basin hit his face repeatedly. Ororo grabbed her injured shoulder, while she saw a girl of long red hair dressed in a hospital gown. The girl's hand was directed at the soldier, and Ororo realized it was the girl she saw back at the school. The girl looked up and waved, smiling. Ororo directed a bolt of lightning at her, changing her gown into a costume similar to her own. The girl was frightened at first, but when she saw and felt the costume around her she smiled, and she continued to hit the unconscious soldier with the basin.

-- [ --

Remy Lebeau lowered his head as he appeared back on his room. He appeared next to window, his eyes looking down at the park, at the dispersing crowd and the roaring fires.

"What the hell happened there? They shot my guitar! Now it's worthless!" said Alex Summers, clearly mad, throwing his guitar, which crashed against the floor, completely destroyed.

"Calm down little brother, you're safe, that's all that matters," said Scott, sitting on the sofa, putting his feet up a coffee table and placing an arm behind Anne Marie's shoulders, who was sitting next to him.

"And all thanks to Kurt. Are you alright sugah?" asked Anne Marie, her voice had a deep southern accent despite her gothic, northern appearance.

"Ja. I am… fine," said Kurt, throwing himself in the bed, on the brink of exhaustation. It hadn't been easy to teleport all of his companions to the hotel suite one after the other so fast.

"Do you think we should have done something? We could have used our mutant powers," said Remy, looking through the crowd, trying to see the girl who saved his life.

"No. Our mission is clear. People have to think we're mutants, but they can't be allowed to know the truth, that's why we fed the rumors of Kurt being in costume to the tabloids. We do what the mission statement says, there is no arguing there," said Scott, his tone was final.

"Still, we should have been warned about this. We need one of us in the security so nothing like this happens again. That was a nice guitar," said Alex Summers, frowning.

"Who were them? Those costumed kids who stopped the soldiers?" asked Remy, following Storm with his eyes.

"Your next assignment," said a deep hollow voice. As one the Marauders turned to the entrance door, where a tall white man walked inside. His eyes were deep red, as was the diamond-shaped tattoo on his forehead. He wore a deep blue suit, underneath a long black coat. "Those kids are going to be all you think about from this moment on," he said removing his gloves as he walked inside the room.

-- [ --

Ororo returned to the ground as her winds dropped several unconscious soldiers on top of another bunch of unconscious soldiers. "Those are the last," she said as she saw her teammates all around her. "How many deaths?"

"Twenty five, I… I counted them," said Northstar, stopping suddenly behind Storm.

"We… we should bury them," said Shadowcat, her eyes in tears. She was holding herself, clearly distraught.

"Yes, if we don't the birds are going to eat them," said Jean Grey, carefully placing the metal basin back on her head.

"Who are you?" asked Northstar.

"Jeannie. Professor Xavier told me while I was sleeping you were going to be my teammates. I am a student too," she said smiling.

"We did the best we could, we were blindsided," said Wanda, tightening her gloves. She disliked the colors of the costume, but she wasn't really thinking about it.

"Good thing we were here. If we hadn't been, there might've been more dead," said Beast, hugging Kitty, trying to comfort her.

Northstar and Colossus hugged as well as silence fell upon them, they were unsure what to do. Slowly, Ororo spoke first. "We should return to the school," she said. The others nodded slightly, as wind began to sweep them.

"Hey you!" said a voice. Ororo stopped herself in mid-air, her friends next to her as a reporter rushed towards them. "Who are you? What happened here? We saw you stopping those madmen," said the reporter, moving her microphone towards Storm.

"Madmen is an accurate term. This men attacked the recital, tried to kill everyone because they did not like the message of tolerance and unity that came from the Marauders' song. We are here to stop such madness, to stop such acts of intolerance and prejudice," said Storm as she gave strength to her winds. "We are the X-Men," she finished, and her winds took her and her friends through the skies, as several cameramen followed them with their cameras.


	7. Chapter 7

**First Strike part I of VI: The Reprimand **

The sound of the stiletto heels against the cold rock repeated itself with a faint echo as the woman walked forward with calmness in her stride. The long white leather boots ran all the way to her mid-thighs, revealing her slender legs. She wore nothing but the lower part of a bikini and a tight leather corset, accompanied by white opera gloves. A long white satin cape billowed behind her, crowned by a collar of white fur. Her long blonde hair flowed freely on top of her cape, as if it had been restrained for years and it was now at last loose. And as she walked through the torch lit corridor, Emma Frost's calmness slowly faded, and she gripped the newspaper in her hand harder. As she reached the end of the corridor, a servant opened the heavy oak door before her, and Dr Emma Frost entered the room. Her eyes fell instantly on the white-skinned man sitting in a long table across the room. His red eyes were fixed on her, his chin resting on his joined hands. She could not help but feel a small chill while under his gaze, which seemed to last forever.

A voice cut the air, and Dr Frost realized for the first time there was someone else in the room.

"Ah… at last. I am very curious my dear Emma, why did you summon this meeting of our beloved Club's most Inner Circle?" asked Sebastian Shaw, pouring dark red wine into a golden goblet, standing close to the table. He wore a white Victorian suit, and had a smile on his face.

"Stop smiling Shaw, you need to see this," Dr Frost said, dropping the newspaper on the table. "Where is the Black Queen? I called for the entire Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club, this is a matter of utmost importance."

"Emma, you called us an hour ago, you know full well she is unable to join us on such short notice. However that does not mean she is absent," said Shaw, sitting on his throne-like chair, trying to get a glimpse of the newspaper.

"Indeed," said the Black Queen. Emma Frost's eyes moved directly to the small speaker next to the white-skinned man, hearing her hateful colleague's voice. "I am sorry you have such bad manners as to call an urgent meeting while I am not in the country. Now, will you please tell us why you summoned us? I hate speaking on the phone like this."

"She called…" spoke the white-skinned man at last, "because what we have feared for five years has happened at last." His red eyes were fixed on the newspaper before him. "My fellow King and Queens, we face now our greatest fear. Xavier and Lensherr are producing superheroes, and they are amassing an army in their school."

Sebastian Shaw tried to repress a laugh as he sipped his wine. "An army? Seriously Essex, don't you think that's a bit over the top? Xavier has children. Can children truly be considered a threat to our plans? To our assets?"

"Of course they can," said Nathaniel Essex, rising from his chair, his long black cloak swishing as he moved towards Shaw. "Mutant Children of extraordinary power reside within that school. If Xavier begins to teach these children to behave like heroes they might very well be ruined. That is why I proposed on earlier meetings to infiltrate the school and control Xavier's students from within."

"Again with that? All you want is to fulfill your strange fascination with mutantkind, Nathaniel. We cannot shape the minds of the young with an agent or two on the school. We need to eliminate the entire teaching staff to do something like that, and the children will not willingly accept such change," said Emma, crossing her arms.

"Enough, this is a very dire situation. If the children start doing superhero work it will not be long before our plans are threatened. As such, we must strike at the school to teach Xavier a lesson," said the Black Queen over the speaker. "Xavier must loose some of his children to gain discouragement. Hopefully some of the survivors will try to find some other form of… education."

"I agree," said Sebastian Shaw. "Let's kill some of the brats, cull them to see who's fit," he added, lifting his goblet. "You know I've been dying to use my babies for something like this."

"No. An attack like the one you want will be investigated, linked back to you and then us. We need to point a different weapon at Xavier's. We need someone else to perform the job we need and take the blame," said Frost, her eyes fixed on Essex, who was now giving his back to the rest.

"Stryker," said Nathaniel Essex, without turning around. "There is no doubt his men were behind the Central Park attack, his so-called Purifiers. We let him know there is a school for mutants, and where it is, and he will do the rest."

"I agree with my Black King," said the Black Queen, "shall we vote?"

"It is not necessary," said Emma Frost, smiling at last. "We all agree to the plan."

And silence fell on the dark room, nested within the bowels of the Hellfire Club's New York City building.

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Erik Magnus Lensherr sighed. He kept looking out the window in his office, his gaze lost in the morning's skies. His hands were joined behind his back, and when he spoke, his voice was deep and powerful, though his tone was not loud.

"How did you do it? How did you quell the fires around the park? Around the people? How did you keep the fire from killing anyone, the explosions from blowing up people?"

Wanda Lensherr was expecting a severe reprimand, and when her father asked such questions she was shocked. He had remained in silence for long, endless minutes, and now he was asking her about her powers. She tried hard not to stutter, she clearly understood her father was not going to react as she expected, and not knowing what he was going to do scared her even more than the possibilities she had foreseen.

"I… ehm… I don't know. I just… sort of… moved my hands, didn't I? I always do, just… move my hands at things and pretend I'm conjuring something and… that's it. Just like magic, it happens."

Erik Lensherr sighed again, after a few seconds of silence he turned, his piercing blue eyes fixing themselves on his daughter's. "Do you realize this is the reason of my disappointment? The fact that you don't take serious respect for your own powers? You need to know how your powers work. You need to intimately know how to control them. Wanda you have the power to virtually do anything you dream of. With a flick of a finger you could end the world's problems, hunger, war, hate, everything could be fixed. Yet you continue to use your powers in smaller ways, because you are lazy. You are a lazy girl who doesn't even care about her powers or how they work as long as they do."

Wanda Lensherr lowered her head, while she forced herself not to cry. It was not easy hearing her own father speaking such words, especially because she could almost feel the contempt in his tone.

"This is why you disappoint me Wanda, and why you always will. Because you know nothing about your powers or using them in the correct way."

"And what is the correct way? Your way? Am I supposed to do everything you tell me, like Lorna and Pietro? Just because you're my father it doesn't mean you own me," said Wanda, clearly angered, as a tear broke from her eye and fell down her cheek.

Erik Lensherr saw Wanda's Mother's face reflected on his daughter once more. Slowly he turned from her, he could not bear such sight, and he turned back on the window. "You will understand how your powers work, and I will guide you once more, even if you do disappoint me in the end again. Eventually you will understand why this is so important, my child."

Wanda lowered her head again, trying to contain her tears.

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Jean Grey's green eyes were fixed on the chandelier above her as she sat with her legs crossed on the sofa. "I don't like this room," she said, slowly tugging at the hem of her hospital gown.

"Would you like us to go somewhere else?" asked Professor Xavier, sitting in front of his student on a comfortable armchair, his fingers entwined before his face.

"It reminds me of her, the evil blonde Doctor. I don't like her," said Jean, moving her face as she followed a small piece of lint in the air.

"Emma? How does this room remind you of her?" asked Xavier, clearly surprised.

"She was here once, talking to my new friend the crazy God girl," said Jean, her green eyes finally finding Xavier's. "I clearly see her aura here. And a lot of others. A couple of students made out on this sofa once you know."

Charles Xavier laughed. "Yes, I have no doubt some of the students might have taken such liberties from time to time. You must be sensing the residues of psychic imprints, an ability I did not know you possessed."

"Me neither. Weird," said Jean, moving her head back and forth slightly.

"What was the first thing you heard when you woke up last night and decided to follow my students?" asked Charles Xavier with curiosity,

"Annie. Dying. I always hear her screaming when I'm not awake. But she wasn't the reason why I followed the others," said Jean, her eyes moving towards the window.

"No? Why was it then?"

"I don't know. I just… they seemed nice, even though they were sort of fighting each other. Somehow I knew they would not hurt me."

"I see. And why then did you keep yourself hidden from them?"

"It was… safer to stay hidden, they might have not liked me," she explained, looking once more at Xavier.

"And why did you help them?"

"Because they were good people, fighting evil people, and the good people must always win and I just wanted to help them fight the evil people. At least until the birds come around and kill all of us," said Jean, her face changing at the last sentence, showing deep grief.

Charles Xavier sighed. "We've been through this Jean. What happened to Annie was an accident. The bird did not attack your friend on purpose, she just crashed into it while she rode her bike, it was nothing but an unfortunate accident."

Jean moved her head to both sides over and over, whispering "No, no, no," as she did. After a few second she calmed herself and took a deep breath. "You keep saying that, but I heard the bird. I know it did it on purpose, he wanted to kill her. They're going to kill all of us."

Charles Xavier tried hard not to roll his eyes. It was like speaking to a wall; the harder he tried for her to see the truth, the less she heard him.

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"I will not allow you to punish me for this incident. I did things as I saw fit. And the word of the Goddess is Law," said Ororo, crossing her eyes and frowning.

"I am not going to punish you. Professor Xavier only wants to know what drove you to do such things. And if we do punish and your friends it will be for escaping school in the middle of the night, not for saving lives," said Forge, trying to contain a smile as he saw the white-haired girl before him.

"The Goddess does as the Goddess wills. There will be no punishment. If the will of the Goddess is restrained, then the Goddess will find a home more suitable for her," said Ororo, still not looking at Forge.

Forge could not suppress a smile this time. He clicked the remote control on his hand and the empty room changed around them, as the state-of-the-art holographic technology he designed filled the Danger Room.

The Central Park recital became alive around them, and Ororo found herself in the middle of the crowd as the familiar voice of Remy Lebeau sang and the people cheered.

"What form of sorcery be this?" she said, looking everywhere.

"I just want to see how will you react if something different might have happened," said Forge, moving closer to Ororo, walking through the crowd.

Ororo tried to touch one of the fans, and her hand passed through it.

"They're just holograms, they don't need to be more realistic for this," said Forge, looking at the remote control-shaped computer on his hand, touching several buttons.

A large twenty feet humanoid robot appeared behind the nearby trees, lifting his hands and firing laser beams towards the crowd and stage.

"No!" shouted Ororo, her eyes flashing white as she began to levitate. "I will not allow you to murder this people! I am the Goddess of Life! Humanity is under my protection!" she said, creating dark clouds above her, as lightning coalesced around her.

And Forge lifted his eyes towards the girl, watching her fight the gigantic robot, and he could help but feel a thrill running through his entire body.

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"Professor Adler?" asked Katherine Pryde as she opened the classroom's door, peeking inside.

"Destiny dear, I told you to call me by that name," said the old blind woman sitting behind her desk, her hands moving through a Braille-written book.

"Ehm, Professor Xavier said I should speak with you about what happened last night," said Kitty, hunching her shoulders and lowering her head.

"You did brilliantly last night Kitty, you need not feel fear nor shame about your actions. You saved lives," said Destiny, lifting her head towards the child.

Kitty was somewhat confused, but she felt warmth in her heart as the old woman spoke.

"You are going to be very important Katherine, your part in history is merely starting, just remember to always trust your instincts," said Destiny smiling.

Kitty nodded. For a moment she remained unmoving, uncertain what to do, and then slowly she turned around to leave.

"Katherine, before you leave there is something for you. It will help you with your headaches," said Destiny, resuming her reading.

Kitty turned back and moved closer to Destiny's desk. Her eyes opened wide as she saw a round-shaped pair of glasses.

"You have astigmatism. That is why your head hurts so much," said Destiny.

"But… I… I haven't had an eye exam… ever," asked Kitty confused.

Professor Destiny merely lifted her head towards Kitty and smiled.

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"Are we going to be punished?" asked Piotr Rasputin, a slight tone of fear in his voice.

"I seriously doubt that. Even though you were out of bounds, out of the school at night, you saved lives, that is all that matters," replied Amelia Voght as she gently clipped a dead branch from her small bonsai tree.

Piotr felt calmness wash over him. He had been very worried about the consequences of last night's escapade, yet the lighter atmosphere inside the greenhouse calmed him.

"What confuses me is why did you go to the recital, Piotr? I know you do not like that type of music," asked Amelia Voght, leaving her tools and looking at her student.

"Jean Paul does, he, really likes it and… he wanted me to come," said Piotr, trying not to blush.

"And you agreed? Does Jean Paul know you don't like that music?"

"I… no, I… didn't tell him yet."

"Why?"

"He might get angry," said Piotr, trying not to look at his teacher's face.

"Does Jean Paul get angry about a lot of things? He doesn't strike me as an angry person. A bit arrogant and self-absorbed at times, but not angry," said Amelia.

"No he… he is not an angry person, but lately… it's like we've been getting slightly apart. I… sometimes I feel he's about to break up with me," said Piotr, not really knowing why he was talking about such things with a Professor. Perhaps it was because he didn't feel comfortable talking about such things with anybody else.

"I see. And do you have a clue about why he might be drifting apart?"

"I… no… da… I… he wanted us to have sex and I… I said nyet," said Piotr, his strong Russian accent taking control of his words.

"Why did you say no?"

"I am… afraid. Not everyone understands people like us. And this school… everyone knows everything that happens here," explained Piotr.

"You don't feel ready to do it? Don't you love Jean Paul? Don't you want to be with him?"

"Da. I do love him. He's everything to me. And I do feel ready. It's just… I'm afraid," said Piotr blushing.

Amelia Voght moved closer, lifting her arm and gently placing it around the boy's shoulders. "Sometimes, fear can be a good thing. Perhaps you're not ready and you don't know it yet. But I can understand how Jean Paul feels too. It can be very hard when the person you love doesn't give you the attention you so want. It might lead you to do things you normally wouldn't do to do to draw his attention..."

Piotr Rasputin thought about Professor Voght's words, was she really talking about Jean Paul? Or was she talking about someone else?

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"I have been a very naughty boy," said Henry McCoy, a smile etched on his face.

"You will address me as you must. I am a teacher and I will not allow you to speak in such ways with me," said Professor Sage, crossing her arms.

"I love it when you acquire such a strong protocol-driven attitude," said Henry.

The nineteen year old student, the oldest of the entire School, moved closer to his teacher, grabbing her waist with his big strong hands.

"Your vocabulary never ceases to grow, doesn't it?" said Sage, smiling as she sank her lips on his student's.

After a few moments, they slowly broke apart. "Not here… let's… let's meet tonight," said Sage.

"Just like every night," added Henry.

"Yes. Come tonight and we shall discuss your… punishment," she said with a smile.

"It does sound interesting I might say, and I can hardly wait," replied Henry, kissing his teacher once more.

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"I can't believe you did that," said Pietro Lensherr, his feet moving slowly back and forth, barely scratching the surface of the lake below them.

"I can't believe it either. I was so… weird. It wasn't like the Danger Room at all, we were really in danger," replied Jean Paul, sitting next to Pietro on the small wooden dock.

"Man I so hate you right now, I'd give an arm to be out there on the field, doing something like that. I feel so jealous," added Pietro, the morning sun causing his nose piercing to shine brightly. "You guys are going to get detention or something? Or are they going to let you do that sort of thing again?"

"I hope no to the first and hell yeah to the second, but I have no idea really. Professor Xavier said he'd talk about it with us later. I have no clue what he thinks," said Jean Paul, sighing as he lifted his head to see the skies.

"Of course you don't, you have crappy speed powers not mind-reading powers," said Pietro with a smile.

"You have crappy speed powers too, smartass," added Jean Paul.

"Yeah but mine are better, I can run faster than you."

Jean Paul rolled his eyes. "Please tell me we're not going to go running all over the school again? There must be something else we could do."

"Of course there is, bub. You can go back inside and grab your shit. You're coming with us back home," said a voice behind them.

The duo of young teenage mutants turned around at the same time. Coming out of the woods they saw a small man dressed in a white and red uniform, which clearly resembled the Canadian flag. Behind him they saw several other costumed people sporting similar outfits.

The man in front closed his fist and three razor-sharp metal claws erupted from the back of his hand, as a clear 'snikt' sound filled the air. "Don't make me repeat myself kid. I don't want to use these," he said flashing his claws at the surprised mutants.

"Mon dieu…" said Jean Paul Beaubier clearly surprised. His past had finally caught up to him.


	8. Chapter 8

**First Strike part II of VI: The Requisition**

"Vindication!" shouted the Reverend William Stryker, lifting his hand high in triumph, standing before his flock. Hundreds of heavily armed men and women, dressed in similar black and white robes chanted with glee at the words of their leader. Stryker smiled, moving his hands to calm his followers. "We have received information that our suspicions be true! The offspring of Satan are gathering! Amassing their forces to strike upon our beloved fellow humans! We must not allow this!"

The crowd cheered and roared, drinking their shepherd's every word, filled with expectation, because they knew what was coming.

"We know now where this gathering of evil takes place. We know now where to strike. My fellow Purifiers, we will cleanse the Earth from this scum, this threat to Humanity called Mutantkind."

Stryker remained for a couple of minutes before his flock, drinking their cheers. Slowly he turned around, leaving the stage of his church, walking into a corridor. A young man stood there, his body obscured by a priest's black robe, his long blonde hair flowing behind him.

"The time has come then, father. At last we will take the word of God to this infidels," said the young man.

"Of course, my son. And it will be your sacred duty to lead our forces, to lead the forces of the Lord in this holiest of missions," said Stryker, lifting his hand and gently grabbing the young man's shoulder.

"It is an honor, father. I will prepare my men, tonight we strike."

And William Stryker smiled, feeling their victory was near.

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Wanda Lensherr closed the door to her father's office behind her, hiding her tearful face as much as she could. She sighed as she walked down the hall, unsure of what was to come. And then she heard a voice cut the silence of the mid-morning, and she wished she was somewhere else, although she knew her wish was not possible.

"So, the little black sheep aims to score a few brownie points with daddy by playing superhero? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you should know better little sister," said Lorna Lensherr in a mocking voice, walking behind Wanda.

"Please, don't start right now, I don't want to deal with you of all people," said Wanda, trying not to look at her sister.

"You will listen to me you brat," said Lorna. Her green eyes flashed with energy and Wanda suddenly found herself hovering in mid-air, slowly turning to see her. "This is my school and my team is the one that calls the shots. Don't even think that going out and playing hero will earn you nothing with the rest of the kids. You and your kooky friends will never be popular."

"Wow, you really are deluded. You think we risked our lives to save others just so we could be more popular in school?" said Wanda, helplessly floating in Lorna's magnetic embrace.

"You will not do it again. You will not go out of this school ever again," said Lorna, her eyes flashing wildly.

"And I suppose you are going to stop me and my 'kooky' friends?" said Wanda with a smile. Her hands glowed with pink-red energy and Lorna's magnetic cocoon around her imploded and Wanda was free. She gently landed in the hall, her hands in front of her, readying herself for battle. "This has been brewing for a while. I am very sick and tired of your superiority complex, 'big sister'. Let's see who really is the best one."

"Bring it on," said Lorna, lifting her hands and unleashing her magnetic powers against her sister.

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"Mon… mon dieu," was all Jean Paul was able to say. He recognized the man threatening him, even though he had never really met him, and of course he knew the men and women behind them. Alpha Flight, a mercenary team of super-powered people in the employ of the Canadian Army.

"You heard Wolverine, Jean Paul, get your things, you're coming back home with us," said Heather Hudson, Guardian, who wore a suit similar to Wolverine's, resembling the Canadian flag.

"No… I…" Jean Paul Beaubier was confused, uncertain of what to do, he turned to see Pietro, but he was already on his feet.

"Don't look at me for advice frenchie, this is your problem, not mine," and without adding another word, Pietro Lensherr ran away, using his mutant power of speed to run as fast as he could.

A woman of long blonde hair wearing a blue suit began to fly, but a gigantic Sasquatch-like creature stopped her. "No Narya, he will not warn the others, you saw how he reacted. He's a coward."

"And this will be over before anyone can reach us. I told you bub, one way or another you're coming back home to Canada with us. You either do it quietly or we take you by force. What's it gonna be kid?"

"I… I can't," said Jean Paul, and without thinking he began to run away.

Guardian and Snowbird took to the skies, ready to follow the fleeing child, but Wolverine brought a small device close to his face and he spoke into it. "Puck, he's making a run for it. Send her after him."

"Sure Logan, you're the boss," replied a voice over the intercom.

"Shaman, try to shield us, if the people at the school find out we're here it might get messy," said Wolverine. A red-skinned man of long black haired reached into his magical pouch and began to chant in an ancient language, long forgotten by most.

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Jean Paul Beaubier ran with no fixed destination. He was unsure where to go. He knew they were going to follow him. They had followed him all the way from Canada, hadn't they? It certainly took them some time, but they found him. He knew that if he ran towards the mansion he could endanger his friends. He had to run away again, as far and as fast as he could. He kept running, leaving the Xavier state, crossing the small wall into the neighboring state. And as he did he thought it would be better to fly, he could certainly reach his top speed in the skies. He closed his eyes, never stopping his run, and he concentrated, and slowly began to fly. And as he did his speed increased, and he tried to fly north, away from his chasers, away from the one place he called home.

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Piotr Rasputin lifted his eyes. For a second he had felt emptiness in his heart, as if it had slightly broken. He was still in the greenhouse, alone. He watched the endless skies through the glass ceiling, feeling the warmth of the sun bathing him.

"Are you all right?" asked young Kitty Pryde, entering the greenhouse.

Piotr moved his head towards the door and saw the youngest mutant in the school entering the greenhouse. "Da. Are you wearing glasses?"

"Don't ask," said Kitty, frowning her brow slightly. "Look you're the first of us I can find, do you know where the others are?"

"Us? Others?" asked Piotr, hiding a smile.

"You know what I mean, us, X-Men. I… I sort of want to speak to the group," said Kitty, lowering her eyes.

"We are not a group, Kitty. What happened yesterday… it was just a coincidence. We happened to be there, we were needed, and we helped. That doesn't mean we will go out every night to be superheroes."

"That is exactly what I think we should do, I mean… we saved lives, the world needs more people that can save lives," said Kitty.

"Katherine, you are very young, we are all very young. It is not our time to do such things. Not for now," said Piotr, placing an arm around the girl's shoulder. "But if it serves as consolation, young comrade, we can go find the others, and you will see they share my view."

Kitty shrugged and allowed the tall handsome boy to escort her back towards the mansion, slightly blushing as he did.

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The memories became clearer with every mile he flew; everything that happened to him since he manifested his mutant power five years ago, when he was barely twelve. How he and his sister had unwillingly destroyed their home, killing their father and severely wounding their mother and younger brother. How the government had come to their rescue. How this man named James Hudson proposed to restore their house, and to pay their mother's medical bills if they chose to work for him, for the Canadian Army. And then he remembered agreeing to a contract that practically made him a slave of Alpha Flight, and he remembered the things he was forced to do once his training had ended. And he remembered Kyle, and running away. But then a bright flash of light erupted in front of him, and Jean Paul stopped his march, closing his eyes and protecting them with his arm. He was blindsided, and he suddenly found himself unable to remain flying, and he began to fall. He hit the ground hard, feeling the mud and the pain on his left side as he did. And he regained his sight and opened his eyes, and he saw, coming down from the skies towards him, a lone figure, a girl of long black hair.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Jean Paul. Come home with us," said Jean Marie Beaubier, as she slowly landed before her brother and offered her hand to him.

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Wanda Lensherr fell to the ground, but she smiled as she saw her sister fall as well. The Magnetic energy had collided with Wanda's hex, and the resulting explosion had sent both mutants to the ground. Wanda was up in a second, and she began to cast another hex. Three spheres of pink-red energy formed between her hands, and Wanda directed them towards her foe.

Lorna was levitating; her feet were several inches from the ground, when she saw the attack. She created a magnetic shield, causing the hexes to explode safely away from her, and directed her hands towards the large chandelier in the middle of the hallway. The bronze chandelier began to twist and change its shape, and Lorna separated it from the ceiling, making it land and turning it into a gigantic bronze spider, which moved at great speed towards her sister.

Wanda had seen her sister's attack and she was trying to cast a defending spell, but the spider lunged at her, and she suddenly found herself pinned to the ground, trapped between the hard bronze legs.

"Give up yet sis?" asked Lorna smiling.

"Never," said Wanda. She gently tapped the spider's back with her long index finger, and the bronze spider released her, and it glowed with the same energy as Wanda's hands and suddenly it began to run towards Lorna.

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"Jean Marie… please… let me go… I'll keep running… just… I don't want to go back," said Jean Paul, slowly rising to his feet, refusing to grab his twin sister's hand.

"I can't let you run away again, Jean Paul. You belong with us, you belong with Alpha Flight," said Jean Marie, bringing her hand back to her.

"To Alpha Flight would be more accurate. I… I don't want to work for them anymore. Not after what they did to Kyle and…"

"Kyle was expendable. Be glad it was him they chose to punish for what both of you did. Do you realize that Mr. Hudson is threatening to remove mother from the hospital unless you come back? Mother will die if you don't go back home with us. Do you want that?" asked Jean Marie; tears began to form in her eyes.

"Don't… don't cry," said Jean Paul, moving closer, slowly grabbing her sister's arms, trying to comfort her. "But I can't go back. I'll talk to Professor Xavier here; maybe… maybe he can take mother somewhere else. This is a school, you will be more than accepted here. We can stop working for them, we have a way out."

"There is no way out, you have to know this. We pledged our lives to protect the Flag. We must serve. Our powers were given to us for a reason, and we must use them to serve our country," said Jean Marie.

"No, that's the garbage they try to fill our heads with. But there are more ways we can help, we can help the entire world!" said Jean Paul, moving his arms away from his sister.

"Non. Je suis equivoque. You must come back," said Jean Marie, crossing her arms.

"No. I will not go back to a fascist army that doesn't allow me to be who I am," said Jean Paul.

"Then I regret this, brother," said Jean Marie. She opened her eyes, and she began to glow brightly, and the light flew from her and she fired a blast of raw light towards her sibling, making him fall. "You should have never left me alone in that place."

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"Hey Rasputin, you left one sissy boy for one little girl? Your taste is improving," said Pietro Lensherr as he saw Piotr Rasputin and Kitty Pryde walking through the campus together.

"You're really funny, you know that?" said Piotr frowning his brow, without really looking at the speedster as he ran past them.

They walked in silence for a few seconds, and their attention was soon caught by Ororo, who was shouting at someone by one of the entrances to the school.

"Is she always yelling?" asked Piotr with a smile.

"Most of the time," replied Kitty with a smile.

Slowly they walked and found Ororo was shouting at Jean, who was reluctant to walk outside the school.

"There are no birds, and even if they were I am the Mistress of the Skies! I am their Goddess!! They respond to my will!" shouted Ororo, a breeze flowing around her as she did.

"You command the wind and the rain and the snow and the heat and all that, but the birds have a mind of their own and they will kill me if I go near them, they will kill us all," said Jean, negating with her head as she did.

"You are insufferable! Why do I even bother to forge a friendship with a mad person is beyond me! I am a Goddess! If I tell you to walk with me towards the pool, you will walk with me!"

"No I won't," said Jean, sticking her tongue out.

Thunder roared in the distance as the skies turned slightly darker.

"Girls, good morning," said Piotr tentatively as he came closer.

Ororo looked at the coming pair and then back at Jean, opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. She was obviously trying to calm herself. "Will you please tell her that there is no danger in going to the swimming pool to indulge ourselves?"

"Ehm… there is no danger in going to the swimming pool to indulge yourselves?" said Kitty trying to hide a smile.

Jean laughed out loud at Kitty's words, grabbing her stomach as she did. But suddenly her face became paler and she fell backwards, sitting on the ground. Her eyes went white and she spoke in a borrowed voice.

"You should have never left me alone in that place. I will beat you into submission if I have to. But one way or another, you're coming home with me, Jean Paul."

"Jean Paul?" repeated Piotr, his eyes opening in surprise.

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Jean Paul lifted his arms before him, he wasn't aware how he was doing it, but he was absorbing his sister's light attack. He stood his ground, as she continued to pour light towards him.

"Jean Marie… you must listen!" said Jean Paul, slowly lifting his head behind his arms.

"No. You must," said Jean Marie, stopping her attack.

As he felt his sister's attack end, Jean Paul removed his arms from his face, and he saw Alpha Flight had arrived behind Jean Marie.

"No more running bub, the army spent a lot of money in you, in helping you control your powers, you are coming back home with us," said Wolverine, flashing his claws at the teenager.

"Never," said Jean Paul, standing his ground.

Guardian was the first to attack. She aimed her hands at the boy, shooting a blast of pure plasma energy, which made him stagger. Snowbird ran towards him next, her long blonde hair flowing behind her as she did, and slowly her shape changed, and she turned into a gigantic polar bear, which lunged at Jean Paul, making him fall with the impact. Shaman reached into his pouch once more, making long vines erupt from the ground and tightly wrap themselves around Jean Paul's body. Sasquatch moved forward and he grabbed the boy from his hair, and he pulled up, lifting him from the ground, as Shaman's vines held him in place.

"See bub, you stand no chance against us. You're coming back whether you like it or not," said Wolverine, smiling at the boy.

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Lorna Lensherr diverted her hands towards the bronze spider, trying to turn it back into a chandelier, but her sister's spell had somehow made it impervious to her magnetism. Frowning slightly, Lorna reached into the ceiling with her powers, removing a steel girder and hit the spider with it, squashing it, smiling at her sister.

"This is barely starting sis," said Lorna, still hovering in mid-air, removing several other girders from the walls and twisting them to take whatever shape she wanted, ready to attack her younger sister.

"There is a situation," heard Wanda in her head as her hands glowed. She looked sideways, she didn't know who was talking to her. "We need you, Wanda, one of us is in trouble."

"I'm a little busy at the moment," said Wanda, creating a shield of pink-red energy around her as the steel girders attacked from all sides.

"We cannot waste any more time, please, come at our side, now."

Wanda's eyes flashed for a second. She had at least recognized Jean's voice in her head. What was she going to do? Keep fighting her sister or go help her friends? There was no real choice. She closed her eyes, she concentrated, and she disappeared in a flash of light. Lorna's girders crashed where Wanda used to be, creating a big hole in the ground.

"Coward," she frowned as she saw her sister disappear.

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Wolverine stood still as a large black plane landed before his team. Another mission had been a success. Slowly the plane touched ground, and as it did the hatch opened.

Jean Paul understood there was only one chance he would get free, and he closed his eyes, concentrating. He began to glow, and slowly his light intensified, and he fired a bolt of light into the skies, like a flare in the middle of the ocean.

"Kid, you wasted that shot. By the time anyone gets here we will be long gone," said Wolverine, entering the plane. The rest of Alpha Flight followed its leader, and immediately the plane began to take off vertically.

"Take us home Eugene, I really want a beer," said Wolverine, sitting next to the pilot, a small bearded man.

The plane flew for a few minutes, bound north, undisturbed and free, until the skies darkened themselves around them and thunder and lightning erupted all around.

"Where did this storm came from?" asked Sasquatch, trying to remain steady as the ship rocked, hit by terrible winds.

"Who did you call kid? Who's doing this?" asked Wolverine, looking at their prisoner.

"Just my friends," smiled Jean Paul.

"I will speak only once. You are now in the domains of the Goddess of the Skies. You will leave my sky and you will release your prisoner, or you will face my endless wrath," said Ororo, flying before the ship.

"Guardian, Aurora… she's all yours," said Wolverine.

The hatch to the plane opened and both Guardian and Aurora flew outside under their own power. Aurora put her hands together, firing a blast of pure light towards Storm, who easily avoided it. Guardian moved at top speed towards her foe, impacting against her and forcing her to fly upwards, loosing themselves in the clouds above.

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"Get ready guys… the ship will come down in any moment," said Wanda Lensherr, preparing her hands. "Am I right Jeannie?"

"You want me to bring it down? Ok," said Jean, lifting her hands towards the ship. She brought her hands down, and the plane began to fall, right before them.

"Sheesh… try not to kill them, ok?" asked Wanda, surprised at Jean's telekinetic power.

"Oh ok… just get down then, no crashing," said Jean, moving her hands, slowing the plane's descent, gently making it land.

Piotr's flesh turned into organic steel and he ran towards the plane without saying a word.

"Let's follow the big Russian guy for the moment," added Wanda, running behind him.

"What our fearless leaderess in command commands," said Beast, jumping next to her, closely followed by Kitty.

Jean smiled as she hopped behind them, securing the steel basin on her head with one hand as she did.

The hatch of the plane opened and Wolverine was the first to appear, his claws extending themselves with a loud snikt. "C'mon kids, show your uncle Logan what you've got." And he jumped from the ship towards Colossus, his claws flashing and his eyes filled with rage.


	9. Chapter 9

**First Strike part III of VI: The Reaction**

Piotr Rasputin grabbed Wolverine's hands as he lunged towards him, and he began to spin in his place. After a few rounds he let go of Wolverine's hands, throwing him far away against a tree. Without waiting for his friends he walked up the small ramp and entered the plane.

He scanned the interior, and he saw Jean Paul, tightly bound in a seat, as an Indian man blew some form of magickal powder into his face.

Jean Paul was able to whisper his boyfriend's name as he fell into unconsciousness.

Enraged, Piotr Rasputin moved closer, but a seven feet tall haired creature stopped his path.

"Leave now kid, before you get harmed," said Sasquatch, crossing his arms as he saw Puck and Snowbird leaving the plane.

Piotr did not respond, he clenched his fist and punched Sasquatch hard in his stomach, making the gigantic beast to fold upon itself.

Sasquatch roared as he felt the pain of the boy's punch, his eyes turned slightly darker and he bared his fangs and punched Piotr, sending him against the cockpit, smashing everything in his path.

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Ororo was trapped in Guardian's embrace, who kept flying both of them towards the upper atmosphere. The Canadian probably felt her armor would allow her breathe in such conditions, and it would make Ororo faint.

"Unhand me!" shouted Ororo with anger. Her eyes flashed and the clouds around them roared in response, and several bolts of lightning hit Guardian from all sides. The woman screamed and released Ororo, who instantly conjured a wind to remain aloft. Guardian fell into unconsciousness, but she was held in place thanks to Ororo's winds. She grabbed Guardian by her suit of armor and began to fly downwards.

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Wolverine cleared his head. He had hit a tree, that boy could certainly throw. He stood up, watching as Beast and Puck fought each other, and while Snowbird turned into a gigantic polar bear to scare the girls before her. And he saw Sasquatch and the metal boy punching each other inside the cockpit, wrecking the ship. He once more grabbed his comm. device and put it near his mouth. "Mac, I need intel on this people… these X-Men kids that were on Central Park last night."

"A bunch of kids is giving you trouble, Logan?" replied a voice.

"Just do what I ask, and send a another plane. Looks like we're gonna need it."

"Roger," replied James MacDonald Hudson over the comm. device.

Wolverine stood up, closing his fists and expanding his claws, and he began to run back into the battle.

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Jean was amused by the roars of the gigantic polar bear before her. "You look pretty, kinda like a huge care bear," she said, skewing her face as she did.

"This is an enemy Jean… we have to fight it," said Wanda, looking sideways at her strange teammate.

"Oh I can't harm a nice little teddy bear, you fight it," said Jean, sitting on the ground, giving her back to the bear.

Wanda Lensherr rolled her eyes and began to form a spell, as Snowbird moved her paws menacingly.

Jean Grey watched as a short man ran towards her with his claws bared. She remained unmoving, sitting with her legs closed. As the man got closer, Jean created a telekinetic bubble around herself, and she saw the man clawing at it, trying to disperse it.

"Your claws can't cut my bubble. It's not made of something, it's made of nothing. You need things made of nothing to pierce things made of nothing," said Jean with a smile.

Wolverine stopped for a second, his eyes resting upon the girls' green eyes. And suddenly he realized the girl was very pretty, and he felt he could not bring himself to harm her. He lowered his hands and smiled.

"Fine kid, you win, care to come out of that bubble and we could have a talk?" he asked tentatively.

"Oh no, you are a bad man that came to take my gay friend away, I will not talk to you," she said, crossing her arms and turning away, while she telekinetically grabbed Wolverine and hurled him against the same tree he had been hurled before.

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Shaman reached into his pouch once more, and he withdrew a small piece of white chalk. He kept his eyes on Sasquatch and Colossus, who were wrestling each other over the remains of the cockpit. Slowly he moved towards the wall of the plane, and he began to draw a circle in it with the chalk, as he chanted and held an amulet with his other hand.

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Ororo saw the battle below and she was preparing to assist her friends, when Aurora flew at her at her topmost speed, grabbing her and forcing her to fall to the ground and to drop the unconscious Guardian. As she fell, Ororo hit her head hard, and everything suddenly turned black.

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Katherine Pryde slowly entered the ship, phasing through the floor. She saw Colossus fighting a big hairy monster, and Jean-Paul was unconscious. A sudden light appeared close to him, and Kitty saw an old man dressed in green and yellow, standing next to a portal. She knew what was going to happen, the man intended to take Jean Paul through the portal. Without thinking she moved at her topmost speed, trying to stay hidden, and she dived through the seat to reach Jean-Paul.

"You cannot take him, ghost girl!" said Shaman, reaching into his pouch.

"Too late gramps, we're gone," she said, concentrating, making Jean Paul as intangible as her, slowly falling through the floor of the ship. And as she did she felt strange, and saw Shaman had managed to throw a weird brownish powder, but she didn't stop, she kept phasing, leaving the ship.

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Wanda saw as Ororo fell from the skies, and as a young girl who looked too much like Jean Paul had forcefully grabbed her and flown her into the ground. And she released her hex towards the polar bear a second before it mauled her.

Snowbird felt the hex hit her face. She felt like sneezing, as pink-red powder enveloped her snout. And when she did she changed her shape, from a giant polar bear to a white wolf, and then she sneezed again, and she changed from a white wolf to a white otter. And when she sneezed once more she turned into a large snowy owl, and her eyes were red and angry.

Jean Grey opened her eyes, she had heard Ororo falling. And then she saw a gigantic bird was about to attack Wanda and she opened her eyes in surprise and tears fell from her eyes. It was all happening again. "NOOOOOO!" she shouted lifting her hands, creating a shield around Wanda and herself, clutching both sides of her head and kneeling, bringing herself to a fetal position. "No no no no no no no no no no please no, don't kill us!" She said as she tightened her telekinetic cocoon, forcing Wanda to fall to the ground next to her.

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Colossus put his hands together, and used all his strength to hit Sasquatch with the most powerful blow he could muster, sending the gigantic man across the room, making him crash against Shaman, who didn't have time to move and was hit by his teammate. Piotr looked around, but there were no signs of Jean Paul. Perhaps Kitty had been able to save him. He stretched his arms, and began to move towards the door.

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Lorna Lensherr flicked her fingers, fixing the damage done to the hallway with ease, with anger in her eyes. Suddenly an unnatural breeze erupted next to her, and she knew who it was before he even spoke.

"What do you want Pietro?" she said, without turning to see her brother, who had stopped next to her.

"Looks like those X-Brats are in the middle of a fight with some supervillains in the woods. Wanna go see and laugh when they get they asses handed to them?"

"So that's why she left…" whispered Lorna. "No. We warn father, when he realizes Xavier's kids have brought trouble so close to the school… this time they will expel them, or better yet, disband them," she added with a smile on her lips.

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"C'mon… wake up," said Kitty, slowly removing Jean Paul's hair from his face. The bowels of the ship provided a safe heaven, both young mutants were safe below the ship.

Slowly, Jean Paul opened his eyes, feeling sweaty and tired, and what he first saw was not what he expected. "Mon dieu! Who… who are you?"

"What do you mean? It's me… Kitty… you know me," said Kitty Pryde.

"No. Kitty looks like a girl, you don't," said Jean Paul, sitting, rubbing his head.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Look, this is not the way Kitty's hands look, isn't it?" he said, grabbing both her hands and showing them to her.

Kitty gasped, she had claws, and fur. Slowly she felt a tail, and as she touched her body she realized she was covered entirely in fur. She touched her mouth, and she felt fangs.

"You look like an overgrown cat, Kitty doesn't look like that. Isn't there a girl in Professor Voght's squad that looks like a cat? Aren't you her?"

Kitty Pryde could not answer, she felt tears falling from her eyes and she began to sob and cry heavily.

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Wanda moved closer towards Jean, feeling the pressure of her telekinetic shield above them. It would not be long before it would crush them both. Slowly she touched Jean's head, trying to reassure her, but it was futile, the girl kept crying and muttering the word "no". Wanda closed her eyes, concentrating, her hand glowed for a second, and suddenly Jean's eyes went blank and fell into unconsciousness. Wanda breathed, feeling the telekinetic bubble faint. She looked around, Ororo was still down, and Beast was tangled with Puck, punching each other and wrestling around. And suddenly she saw Colossus emerging from the ship, his suit tattered and dirty, and he looked very tired.

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Aurora saw the strong metallic teenager leave the plane, and she wondered if he had removed Jean Paul from the plane. She looked around, she was the only member of Alpha Flight ready to fight. She put her hands together and emitted a burst of light, which hit Colossus straight in the face.

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Colossus felt the light hit him, it didn't really hurt him, but he could no longer see. He stumbled, walking down the ramp of the plane, almost falling to the ground as he did. Wanda ran to his side, helping him stand. "We're going to get beaten… were is Jean Paul?" she said, whispering.

"I don't know, I… I can't see…" he said, opening his eyes, which were blank.

"We need help… or… oh crap," she said, watching as Wolverine began to walk towards them, his eyes red with fury.

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"Cat girl… calm down…" said Jean Paul, trying to grab the girl crying before him, but as he did, his hands passed through her, and his eyes opened in surprise. "Mon dieu, je suis Katherine. I'm… Ok I believe you, you're Kitty."

"I know I am!" said the girl, crying heavily. "What am I going to do with a tail? With fur? My mom's going to kill me!"

"Calm down… Professor Xavier will sort you out… are we under the plane?" asked Jean Paul, looking up.

"Yes, I phased us down here to escape," said Kitty, trying to control her tears. Professor Xavier could fix anything.

"Should we go find the others?" asked Jean Paul, but in that instant a tearing sound was heard, and suddenly they could see as the floor of the plane opened, and they saw Sasquatch, standing there, holding the floor.

"Cover your eyes!" whispered Jean Paul to Kitty. He closed his hands and began to fly at his topmost speed, glowing like a star as he did, blindsiding Sasquatch while he crashed against the ceiling of the plane, creating a hole in it.

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"What are we going to do with them?" asked Erik Magnus Lensherr, his hands crossed behind his back.

Charles Xavier sat once more behind his desk, his hands together, resting his chin on them. He did not speak, his eyes fell on his wife, Amelia, who was sitting on the desk itself.

"We punish them for breaking school rules. Make them clean the woods or something like that, and no field trips, parties, or even going to the ball next month," she said, looking at the floor.

"Forge?" asked Erik Lensherr.

"I agree with Amelia, we can't give them detention for saving lives, but we can for leaving the school during the night without supervision."

"Tessa?"

"Sage," she corrected him, her arms crossed. "We should separate them into different squads. And forbid them to have contact among themselves. Why is the Kitty girl running with them?"

"Her only friends in the school are Ororo and Wanda, even though they are much older," said Amelia Voght.

"She's crazy that one, the Goddess of the Storm… I think we should think about sending her to Frost too," added Forge, thinking.

"If you let me give you a little advice…" said Jason Wyngarde, lighting a cigarette, "we need to worry about them doing it again. Because they went out, they fought bad guys, and they won. They are going to want to do it again sooner or later."

"And what do you propose about it, Jason?" asked Erik, turning at last, seeing his friend.

"I can play with them a little. I can create an scenario, while they sleep, in which I can show them how easily they can get killed or maimed or really injured if they pull such a stunt again before they are ready to do it," he replied, releasing a long puff of smoke from his nostrils.

"Not entirely implausible, it might deter them from following such activities," said Erik, almost in a hushed tone.

Charles Xavier's eyes fell on Destiny, the blind woman was sitting across the room, in a comfortable armchair, looking straight at him.

"Is everything alright, Irene?" asked Charles in her head, knowing no one else could listen to their words.

"I am waiting for you to stop them, Charles. You know they cannot prevent these children from doing what they must. I have foreseen the future, one way or another those children will find a way to go out into the world and help. And any and all obstacles we put in their way will only work against us." She answered in her thoughts.

Charles Xavier did not reply for the same reason he had not spoken during the entire meeting. He was debating with himself on what he should do, on what his decision would be. And then someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," said Erik, turning once more towards the window.

"Excuse me, father… but I have to tell you something," said Lorna Lensherr, peering through the door, trying hard not to smile.

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Aurora saw her brother flying away from the ship, creating a hole in it, she knew he was going to run away. Clenching her fists, she began to fly, following him.

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Wanda lifted her hands, trying to create an hex, but Wolverine was too fast for her.

"Sorry sweetie," he said, as he pressed the nerve between her neck and shoulder, rendering her unconscious instantly.

"Wanda?" asked Piotr, as he felt his friend faint next to him. He couldn't see anything, he tried to grab her, but he couldn't, and then he felt a strong kick in his chest, making him go back a few steps.

"You are pretty good at throwing people, you think you can handle a fight, bub?" asked Wolverine.

Piotr roared, moving forward with his arms, his vision wasn't returning.

"Is this the best you can do?" asked Wolverine, smiling as he easily avoided the attack.

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"And with his mighty blow, he endeth the fight," said Beast, whispering.

"What did you say?" asked Puck, suddenly surprised at his foe, who had not spoken since their battle began.

"You loose," said Beast with a smile, using both hands to hit each side of Puck's head with all his strength.

Puck staggered for a second, but then he fell to the side, unconscious.

Beast smiled, slowly rising from the ground. "It is irony of the highest level that a learned person such as a myself enjoyed a fight so brutal and visceral in nature," he said, mumbling to himself as he tried to clean his costume.

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Snowbird found herself on the floor, at last able to control her transformations, the spell of the witch had worn off. She straightened, looking around, most people were unconscious here and there. Her eyes suddenly fell on a cat-like girl, who was running from out of the plane. Without thinking, she turned into a wolf, and began to chase her.

Kitty was afraid, suddenly a big white wolf was barking and running towards her. Without thinking she ran towards the nearest tree and began to climb it, coming to a rest atop a high branch, as the wolf barked at her below.

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"Look bub, this ain't personal, but we got a schedule to keep," said Wolverine, flashing his claws.

Colossus tried to focus on the man's voice, his vision was returning very slowly, but he could see nothing but blurry shapes.

Logan screamed, lunging at Colossus with his claws. In the last second Colossus moved, trying to punch Wolverine, but the mutant's claws pierced the teenager's organic steel, causing a deep wound in his arm.

Piotr screamed. Such was the magnitude of the pain that he feel on his knees, grabbing his wounded arm, where a deep gash was visible, yet no blood poured from it.

Logan put his claws back, the kid wasn't going to keep fighting anymore. He brought his comm. device to his mouth once more, and spoke into it. "Mac, hurry up with the plane, we need to evac now." And then he heard as thunder broke.

"YOU DARE," said Ororo, slowly rising from the ground. "YOU BRING YOUR LITTLE PEOPLE HERE, YOU HURT ME, MY FRIENDS, AND YOU BELIEVE YOU WILL LEAVE HERE WITHOUT PUNISHMENT?" she said, her voice echoing like thunder and her eyes flashing with anger.

Wind erupted around Wolverine, hitting him from all sides, as lightning broke above them and the skies darkened.

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"You will not escape!" shouted Aurora, following her brother.

"I am not going to run, Jean Marie. Not anymore," he said, stopping in mid-air, crossing his arms.

"Come with us, please you have to go back home," she said, reaching him and stopping before him.

"This is my home now, ever since Professor Xavier found me. It can be a home for you too, you can stay here."

"No… I… I belong with Alpha Flight. I have to take you with us, you have to come back," she said, hesitating.

Jean Paul sighed, he knew it was a lost cause to argue. He thought about attacking his own sister, or wait until she attacked him to defend himself, but then he saw the familiar figure of Professor Lensherr, in his full Magneto garb, flying towards them.

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Ororo lifted Wolverine from the ground with her winds, hitting him with lightning over and over, enjoying every scream uttered by the little man.

"Ororo, can you bring him closer?" asked Professor Xavier, calmly walking into the clearing from between the trees.

"I am punishing him," she said simply, as another bolt of lightning fell from the skies, hitting Wolverine's back.

"I need to speak with him, Ororo," said Professor Xavier with calm, extending his telepathic powers to calm Colossus's pain as he walked, and to stir Jean and Wanda back into consciousness.

Ororo frowned, but slowly her winds brought Wolverine closer to him.

"We need to talk, Mr Wolverine. You cannot come into my home and threaten my students," said Xavier.

"We didn't threat anyone, those blasted kids just got in the way. We came for what is ours," Logan replied, unable to move in Ororo's crushing winds.

"Perhaps we need to speak this over in my office, we can do these things with diplomacy. There is no need for violence," said Xavier.

Magneto landed next to him, closely followed by both Jean Paul and Aurora, and as he did his eyes fell on Colossus, who was wounded. "I will look after the children, you take the leader and sort this mess." Slowly he crouched next to Piotr, gently placing his hand on top of his wound, which slowly began to close.

"Ororo, lower him, we have much to discuss," said Xavier, walking towards the school, smiling at Jean as she began to rise.

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The hours passed strangely fast, and Erik Lensherr at last found his way back to the office he shared with Charles. It was curious, for years he had stayed away from the office, but in the past few weeks he could not keep himself away from it for long.

"How are the children," said Xavier, watching outside the window as Alpha Flight's plane left.

"Rasputin regained his sight properly, and his arm is healed, he didn't got a scratch when he turned back. Grey is ok, and so is McCoy and Wanda. Ororo had her shoulder wound open, she made a little tantrum when Nurse Reyes tried to stitch it again. But Pryde… Alpha Flight's sorceror couldn't restore her. She is, for the time being, stuck in cat form until the spell dissipates itself," said Erik, entering the room.

"I had to change his mind, all of their minds. I made them forget about this place, about Jean Paul. I offered the girl a place here, but she rejected it, she is in love with the Sasquatch character," explained Xavier, without looking at his friend.

"You are wondering what I am wondering, aren't you Charles?"

"Of course I am. How did they know Jean Paul was here? And how did they know what they could expect here if they came to find him. I perused Wolverine's mind, but I found nothing, he's had training against unfriendly telepaths," explained Xavier, turning at last. "You cannot leave the school Erik. We need you here," he said, almost pleading.

"I thought you said you wouldn't read my mind anymore," added Erik with a smile.

"The thought is far too clear in your head. I just had to say it, even though it is clear you've made your mind."

"This isn't goodbye Charles, I will come back, but I have to find out what is this… this disturbance… something big is coming, and we must be prepared."

"Just make certain to call every now and then, and don't take too long to return," said Xavier, opening his arms to embrace his friend.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said, hugging his friend back, while he used his magnetic powers to open the windowed door to the balcony.

After a brief moment of silence, Erik Magnus Lensherr walked towards the balcony, he donned his helmet and slowly began to levitate, looking over his shoulder to smile at his friend.

"He is gone? Already?" said Amelia Voght, slowly forming herself next to her husband.

"Yes. And he could not have picked a worse time to do so," Charles said simply, as he turned around and went back inside, leaving his wife to watch the stars.

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"Should we take him down?" asked a soldier as he saw Magneto floating outside the school grounds.

"No. Let him go, when he sees the broken bodies of the spawns of Satan he will suffer, and then we will take him down," said the young blonde man, grabbing his black robe by the neck.

In one swift motion he removed his robe, standing atop a tree, his men scattered nearby, hidden among the foliage and bushes near Xavier's School. And as his robe fell, two massive white wings expanded from his back, and he proudly showed them.

"We move now, we kill the mutants, all of them," said Warren Worthington, leader of the Church of Humanity's strike team. And slowly they began to move towards the mansion.


	10. Chapter 10

**First Strike part IV of VI: The Regicide**

**Seven Years Ago**

Warren Worthington Jr. walked with hurry, almost running through the empty halls of his uptown manor, jiggling the large bundle of keys in his hands, trying to find the correct one. His brow was sweaty and his expression bewildered. The bell rang again. He almost dropped the keys at the terrible echoing sound reverberating through the entire manor. He tried to calm himself, when thunder broke in the distance, and lightning filled the dark hallway through the window.

"The worst night in history," he mumbled as he looked outside, at the terrible storm raging upon them. He kept walking and reached the door, as the bell rang once more.

"William," said Warren Worthington, as he finally opened the door.

"It is not common for you to call me at such hours, my old friend. I can see now you are as distressed as your voice was when you called me. Will you now tell me what is the purpose of this late meeting?" asked William Stryker, entering the manor and removing his drenched coat as he did.

"You… you have to see it… I mean… I've seen it… and… I don't believe it… it's… it's a sign William… a sign from the Lord. You said the other day, the Lord gives signs to those faithful when they need it the most and… come… you have to see him," said Warren Worthington Jr. his voice stuttering and his sweat falling down his forehead.

"Warren I know you haven't been the same since Katherine died, and that faith is the only thing keeping you and your son sane but…" said the Reverend William Stryker as he followed his old friend into the depths of the mansion.

"William, please. Refrain from making judgments until you've seen him. It's… it's Warren…" he said, leading his friend up a staircase. In silence they walked through empty wooden halls, the only sound echoing was their feet and the large bundle of ever-moving keys. At last they reached a door, and very carefully, Warren Worthington Jr. put the key to the lock, but before turning it he spoke.

"William, what I am about to show you is something that will reshape the entire catholic world. I trust you with this secret, and I trust you will not divulge it," he said, warningly.

"Of course William. I am not only your shepherd I am your friend. This is between us," said William Stryker, trying to hide his enthusiasm.

Warren Worthington Jr. slowly opened the door to his son's room. As he did, his best friend's eyes opened with surprise.

William Stryker took two steps, and then he fell to his knees, his eyes not believing what he was seeing. "My Lord… it is a sign… an angel walks among us," he said in a whisper.

Warren Worthington III lowered his head, and as he did, his two massive white-feathered wings enveloped him, showing its extension for a second. "Reverend," said the young ten-year-old, "have you come to explain me what I am?"

"You… my child, are a sign of the Lord, one of his chosen angels, his messenger, and you will bring his word to the philistines," said the Reverend, tears falling from his eyes as he stood up, opening his arms, inviting Warren into an embrace.

The angel-child got jumped down from his bed, and hugged the Reverend, embracing him with his wings.

"This is the signal I was expecting. The Lord has blessed me with a mission, and together we will accomplish it," ended the Reverend with a broad smile on his lips.

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**One hour and a few minutes ago.**

"I am bored," said Alex Summers, dropping his guitar on the nearest bed.

"Patience Summers boy, I trust our benefactor will grant us with things to do soon. Am I right, Remy?" asked Kurt, his long tail moving behind him as he crouched atop the bed's headboard.

Remy LeBeau did not answer. His eyes were fixed on the raging rain outside. His hand gently caressed the cold glass, his gaze lost, looking at the rain, the clouds, the lightning, the wind, looking at everything and nothing at the same time.

"Remy… hey!" said Alex Summers, throwing a pillow at his roommate.

Remy LeBeau jumped from his seat as he felt the pillow draw clear. As he did he landed in a crouching position, while three cards glowed in his right hand. "You want to play mon ami? Let's play," he said smiling. With incredible accuracy he threw his cards, one hit Alex in the face, which made him fall backwards. The second one singed Kurt's moving tail, making him teleport, and the third was aimed at the door, which opened right as the card was about to hit it.

Scott Summers entered the room and as he did he saw a flying exploding card aimed to his head. Without smiling he lazily lifted his red sunglasses, and a beam of pure concussive force erupted from his eyes, evaporating the card in mid-air. "Stop playing," he said as Kurt Wagner teleported himself back into the room. "There's work for you LeBeau, Mr. Essex want to see you in his office. Right now."

"Anything for me?" asked Alex, slowly rising from behind his bed.

"Just LeBeau, you want a job? Clean this mess, this room looks like a pig sty," said Scott, leaving the room.

"Always the cheerful one my brother…" mumbled Alex frowning his brow.

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**Now.**

"Are you sure this is wise, isn't it like too late? We will get caught," said Jennifer Stavros, the girl known as Roulette.

"Don't be silly, Jen. Nothing will happen if they don't catch us," replied Angelo Unuscione with a smile on his lips, reassuring his girlfriend as he led her towards the lake house.

Jennifer Stavros did not smile back. Something was amiss, she felt edgy and scared, and she didn't know exactly why. It was a beautiful night, not even hot or cold, and the moon shone brightly above them. Not even the owls were disturbing the night with their hooting. And that's when she realized something was very wrong indeed. "Angelo... the birds… listen, there is no sound. Nothing…"

"Just because we're walking down this trail and they're not used to it, it's nothing," he said dismissively, grabbing her hand a bit tighter as they walked down the path.

The mutant girl known as Roulette was not reassured. She knew a thing or two about bad luck, and that's what she felt was upon them. She stopped walking, forcing her boyfriend to stop. "Nyet, we should go back to the mansion. I am serious Angelo."

"Honey…" he said, grabbing her waist. "It's ok, everything is ok, don't be scared."

"I am, we go back. Now," she said, feeling the woods around them darken somehow.

Angelo Unuscione pressed his lips against her, kissing her passionately, trying to calm her. And that's when he felt it. A bullet straight to his neck. His mutant power, a personal force field that rendered him untouchable came to life, preventing the bullet from touching him. He instinctively touched the back of his neck, turning around as he let go of his girl.

"Who's out there?" he asked, but was unable to see anything.

"See? I told you…" said Roulette, closing her eyes and concentrating. A white disc of light appeared on her right hand and she threw it further down the path. The white disc exploded as it touched the ground, and suddenly a wind of great strength began to blow, luckily moving the trees away, allowing the moonlight to better illuminate their path. However there was nothing there.

Jennifer screamed, feeling a sting in her neck, and she began to fall. "Angelo… we must… go back…" she said, as her eyes closed and she fell on his arms.

"Jen!" he said, and then felt several bullets fly at him, which were all stopped by his untouchable force field. "JEN!" he screamed, trying to shield his girl from the bullets which seemed to fly from everywhere at once.

"Stop. It is pointless," said a voice, and the bullets stopped. "I will deal with the mutant," said Warren Worthington III, descending from the skies, his white wings reflecting the moonlight.

"What… what are you?" asked Unus, holding Jennifer in his arms.

"The angel of death, who will take your kind back to hell, where it belongs," said Warren, lifting a massive blue sword, and moving it with great speed, faster than what Unus could see, piercing his stomach with it.

Angelo Unuscione could not utter a single sound, as he slowly fell to the ground, his only thought was why didn't his mutant power had activated as he fell into unconsciousness and blood fell from his stomach.

"Put an inhibitor collar on both of them, and make sure they reach father Stryker alive, he wants to execute as many of this monstrosities as he can on live tv," said Warren, cleaning his sword with his victim's clothes. "And hurry up, we have plenty of slaying to do tonight," he said, looking down the trail towards the school.

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"You do realize, children, that we never expected something of this nature to occur," said Professor Xavier, sitting on a comfortable armchair in the downstairs study. His eyes scanned the seven children before him, showing neither displeasure or elation. "The point of this school is to teach you the proper use of your powers, and how to use them to help your fellow man, but living normal, ordinary lives. In fact there are several of our former students out there, doing exactly that."

"I disagree Xavier. The best way to use our powers is by saving mankind from those that dare harm them. In Africa I saved many villages from being pillaged, and many mortals from being captured into slavery. It is the best way for our powers to be used," said Ororo, crossing her arms, she was only one standing, next to her companions.

"And what if I told you that with the proper application of your powers you could stop global warming, or the greenhouse effect, or maybe even heal the hole in the ozone layer?" said Xavier inquiringly, resting his elbows on the armchair and crossing his fingers before him.

"Then I would do it, but then I would go back to keep saving people, it's our destiny," she said proudly.

Jean nodded brightly as she heard Ororo's words, with such emphasis that most of her teammates looked at her sideways.

"I see this is a resolution, are you all of the same mind? Is this your wish? To go out into the world trying to save as many lives as you can?" asked Xavier, his eyes moved towards Piotr Rasputin, almost divining his thoughts before he even had them.

And that's when it happened. The lights went out, and suddenly they were bathed in red light, and a loud horn sounded all over the school.

"An alarm?" asked Jean Paul surprised. In all his years at Xavier's he had never seen anything of the sort.

"Remain calm," said Professor Xavier closing his eyes, expanding his mind.

"It's the birds, isn't it? They came for me! They came for all of us! We're going to die!" said Jean standing up suddenly.

"No Jean, no one is going to die here tonight. Whoever has come to harm us, we will meet them in battle," said Ororo, holding her friends hands.

Professor Xavier tried to find out what has happening on the grounds, but he could not get a reading, somehow, whoever had activated the alarms could shield his thoughts perfectly. He changed his way, moving his astral form out of his body, rising like a ghost and moving itself outside.

"Is there a protocol for this kind of thing?" asked Ororo, still holding Jean.

"Yes, we are supposed to head towards the Danger Room, which is the most secure area of the school," said Beast, looking at Xavier's astral form leave the room.

"Well, Henry, take Katherine and Jean there, try to see if you can help the teachers get the other children downstairs. Jean Paul, can you take a quick look outside? Try to find out whatever it is stalking the school. Piotr we need to cover the Professor's body while his mind is elsewhere. Wanda, you come with me," said Ororo, gently moving Jean towards Beast.

"Is this wise? To separate us?" asked Kitty as she stood up, her tail slowly wrapping itself around her leg.

"There is little choice, kitten," added Storm.

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Professor Xavier could not see anything. His astral form moved through the grounds at great speed, trying to find what might have a tripped the alarms. He knew that Forge had designed the security around the school only to alert them of an impending attack, and that no mere robber would create such an alert. His eyes moved sideways, looking everywhere at once, trying to perceive other minds, but he could not see anything. And then, a huge explosion came from the third floor, from the boy's dormitories.

"No…" he whispered, his greatest fears coming true at last, his mind thinking of Erik and his departure, and what was it that was threatening them.

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"What was that?" asked Wanda, covering her eyes as she ran next to Storm, through a sea of students who came running down the stairs, clearly panicked.

"Explosion, something just blew up," said Storm simply, with anger on her eyes.

"Where are we going?" asked Wanda, following her friend.

"Front door. We meet our enemies head on," said Ororo simply.

"Ororo! Wanda! What are you doing! Go downstairs with the rest of the students!" said Amelia Voght, as she changed from her mist form in front of them.

"Something threatens our home, we will defend it," said Ororo simply.

"You are children, leave this to the teachers!" said Amelia with despair. A second explosion roared above them.

"We don't have time to argue! Our powers can make a difference!" said Wanda pleading.

"What a glory hound you've become little sister, you think you are the only one that can save the school?" asked Lorna Lensherr, gently walking down the stairs, dressed in her battle uniform, closely followed by the rest of the Brotherhood.

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Professor Xavier saw movement at last. Five men moving through the darkness, through the campus, heavily armed and dressed entirely in black. He allowed his mutant powers to flow, trying to enter their minds, but he was unable to do so. He saw them moving towards the mansion, towards the front door, and then he saw several other men moving down from the roof into the holes created by the twin explosions on the third and fourth floors. His astral form flew at topmost speed, knowing full well he could certainly not fight them, when suddenly he felt a terrible pain.

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Warren Worthington III pierced the ghost with his sword, his powerful wings keeping him in mid-air. "Father warned me about your evil kind, mutant. He said you came in the forms of ghosts and spirits, who could enter our minds and force us to do what they pleased," he said, almost in a whisper, while he moved the sword, which was deeply sunk in Professor Xavier's chest. "That is why we shield our minds with technology, and why my sword can hurt you, even if you are nothing more than a spirit."

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Professor Xavier could not move, could not think, the sword was scrambling his astral form. Slowly he dissipated, trying with all the power of his mind to return to his body, wondering if he was going to be able to.

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"Professor?" asked Piotr Rasputin, clearly worried as he saw the eyes of his teacher rolling upwards, turning blank, and his head moving backwards at the same time, his gaze lost and with a expression of sheer terror on his face.

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"Gather here! All of you!" shouted Amelia Voght, moving her hands with hurry, beckoning the last students in the second floor. She glanced down the stairs as the five remaining kids got closer to her, watching Storm and Polaris opening the front door with their powers, bypassing the locks that had been set by the security measures.

"Are we going to be all right, Professor?" asked Bobby Drake, worried.

"I hope so, Bobby," she said, slowly turning to mist, teleporting the students to the safety of the Danger Room.

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"This is wrong," said Kitty Pryde, standing on the door of the Danger Room. "I… I gotta go help," she said, turning backwards.

"What can you do little cat? Please, just… just get inside," said Beast, holding Jean and grabbing Kitty's arm.

"We can't let our friends alone, we are a team!" she said, and she got loose from his grip. With a last look at Jean's green eyes, she turned around and began to run.

"She is right… I… we… have to be strong," said Jean, slowly moving away from Beast.

"If that is what you want, then we will go too," smiled Henry, following her.

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Jean Paul Beaubier stopped behind the lake cottage. He had counted at least thirty men hidden in the bushes, and plenty more had already entered the building. He wondered what to do, when a familiar wind blew next to him.

"So? We take out the guns from their hands before they even realize it?" asked Pietro Lensherr, hiding next to him.

"How many did you count?" asked Jean Paul.

"Thirty-six, hidden, waiting, aiming their guns at the school," replied Pietro.

"Hmph I counted thirty, must've going too fast to see properly," Jean Paul replied with a smile. "Their bullets won't enter the mansion unless the security measures are compromised and if they are waiting it means they can bypass them somehow, so yes, removing their guns is a good idea."

"Great, looser pays the beers," said Pietro, running away.

"I'm still mad at you!" shouted Jean Paul, beginning to run as well.

"You've been mad before, you always forgive me easily," said Pietro with a smile, running faster.

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The front doors of the school exploded and Storm and Polaris began to fly, their eyes searching for enemies. John Proudstar, Blob and Toad moved with speed, closely followed by Wanda, but they could see nothing outside.

"It is too dark, we should've brought Alison with us," said Wanda, looking sideways.

"The skies will lighten our way," said Storm, her eyes turning white as clouds formed above the entire mansion, lightning erupting among them, and thunder roared.

"I… I can sense no strange metals around the school, no guns, nothing," said Lorna Lensherr.

"Clearly this unseen enemies have come well prepared," said Toad, squinting his eyes. "There!" he said, jumping at great speed towards the lane which led to the grates.

"Mort!" said John, following him.

"Stay together!" shouted Polaris, flying behind them.

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Alison Blaire hugged the kid known only as Caliban, praying they would not be found.

"I am scared AlisonBlairefriend, very scared," he said, trying to hide his face between his arms.

"Me too kid, but the Profs will save us, they… they know what to do," she said, trying to reassure him.

"What is going on? It is really scary," he said.

"I don't know, no one did on my room either, they just ran away and I was too scared to run," she said. And then the door opened and a soldier pointed his gun at them.

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"Should we call 911?"

"Are you sure this isn't a drill?"

"Ewww Bobby that was uncalled for."

"It's hot in here."

"It's probably another Brotherhood prank."

"Could you please be quiet!?" shouted Amelia Voght, hovering over the students, the lower half of her body turned to mist. "I can't count you if you're all talking and distracting me!"

"Who is it Forge? Is it that Black Death dude we fought in the old days?" asked Sean Cassidy, looking into Forge's computer.

"It's some sort of army, and I saw a shadow of what can be a winged person outside the mansion," said Forge, his eyes fixed on the small monitor of his hand-held device.

"We have to go out, we have to do something," said Eileen Hairsaw, the literature teacher.

"I count at least five students missing, without counting Xavier's and Magneto's children," said Amelia Voght, forming herself next to her fellow educators.

"What do you say Irene? What should we do?" asked Sage, crossing her arms.

"There is nothing you can do, the pieces are already far into the game. The end has already been written," said the old seer, donning her hood.

"See? It's pointless let's just stay here where it's safe," said Jason Wyngarde sporting a smile.

As one, the rest of the staff looked at him, their stares colder than ice, and after a brief awkward silence he lifted his arms. "Fine, let's go and die on the lines," he said.

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Another explosion rocked the building. Colossus, in his armored form tried to cover the body of Professor Xavier as best as he could, he didn't know if his teacher was alive or dead. A gigantic cloud of dust covered him, with shrapnel and debris falling all around. And when the dust settled he looked at where the wall used to be, and he saw an Angel, carrying a sword.

"So the ghost had a body of its own, I have to kill it like I did his evil spirit," he said, moving slowly inside.

"You hurt the Professor?" asked Colossus, clearly showing anger in his eyes.

"Spawn of the devil, you will meet the same fate of the elder one," said Angel, lifting his sword and lunging towards his foe.

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"See? That's how they came here!" said Toad, pointing at two large black trucks, parked in front of the mansion.

"Let's make sure they can't get away," said Polaris, her eyes flashing as she flew atop the grates. She lifted her arms and the trucks began to slowly rise, the drivers jumping from them to the sides. Lorna lifted her arms higher, lifting the trucks in the air with her magnetic powers. And as she put her hands together so did the trucks, crushing themselves. And she released them, turned into nothing more than scrap metal.

"I like her," said Ororo with a smile.

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"So? What are we waiting for?" said a soldier, hiding behind several bushes.

"It's not gonna be long now. We protect the evacuation at all costs, those mutants have to be hanged," said his companion, aiming his gun at the school.

A sudden wind blew from out of nowhere and both their rifles were stolen from their hands, leaving them with nothing but a blank bewildered expression on their faces.

"You heard that? They're going to evacuate…" said Pietro, moving his hands fast and disassembling the weapon in his hands.

"Yes, let's grab one and beat him until he tells us how they're going to do it," said Jean Paul, repeating his friends' moves.

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"That's five, it's not nearly enough, the Reverend wanted twelve at least," said one of the soldiers, looking at the stacked bodies of the students they had captured.

"This one is bleeding pretty badly, we shout go right now, where is our leader?" said another one, staring at Angelo Unuscione.

"Damn this one is really pretty, who would've thought she was a mutie?" said another soldier, crouching next to Alison Blaire and removing her hair from her face.

"Yeah but look at this freak, he's like a giant, it took three of us to get him from upstairs," said yet another one, looking at Caliban.

"And are sure this isn't just a cat?" said the first one, looking at the young Catseye, who was unconscious in her pink cat form.

"She isn't a cat, she's one of my children," said Amelia Voght, assuming human form in front of the soldier. Without hesitation she punched him hard in the face, as she teleported several of the teachers into the main hall, where the soldiers were.

Forge aimed his guns and began to shoot, trying to get the men away from the children.

"Freaks!" shouted one of the soldiers, firing his gun at Amelia, who was unable to see what was happening, and soon fell to the ground, her hands touching the paralyzing dart he had shot at her.

"No!" shouted Eileen Hairsaw as she saw Amelia fall. She concentrated, turning into her electromagnetic form and releasing a pulse, rendering the guns of the soldiers unusable.

"Great, now we use our fists," said Sean Cassidy smiling, jumping towards the nearest soldier.

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"Cover that flank!" shouted Polaris, creating a force field. Several soldiers had been protecting the trucks, and after watching their destruction had jumped from their hiding places and where shooting at them.

"Stay in the middle! Wanda do something!" shouted Storm, her back to the others, looking in the opposite direction than Polaris, creating vast winds to stop the bullets coming their way.

Wanda Lensherr concentrated, trying hard to create a very specific hex, but her mind was too confused, too worried, she couldn't really think of anything.

Ororo kept concentrating, it wasn't easy to stop the bullets, and the wall of winds she had created could not be used to strike at her foes unless she changed its direction, which would allow the bullets to pass. She concentrated, thunder roaring in the distance, trying to call lightning, when she saw several glowing objects fly towards the soldiers. And when the objects hit them a small explosion occurred and the soldiers fell to the ground. In seconds, all five soldiers firing at them from that side had fallen unconscious, and she saw a figure emerging from the shadows, and she felt her breath taken away suddenly, her eyes opened in wide surprise.

"It looked like you needed a hand, ma petite, hope you don't mind me butting in," said Remy Lebeau smiling as he walked forward.

Warren Worthington easily avoided Colossus's attack, moving to one side. His left wing moved with grace, hitting the metallic boy in the face and sending him backwards, into the ground. He lifted his sword and quickly inserted it through his shoulder.

"My sword can inhibit a mutant's powers. You see, my father has many people working for him, there are many who see what you truly are, spawn of Satan. You will all die," he said, as Colossus's organic metal faded.

"Piotr!" shouted Katherine Pryde as she entered the room, clearly surprised.

"Get him out of here," said Beast, following her.

Kitty ran at her topmost speed, jumping through the furniture. For the first time since Shaman's spell she truly appreciated her new form, she was far faster in it. She concentrated hard, phasing her body, and as he did she jumped through Warren, trying hard to disrupt his electric system, and she touched Piotr and used the momentum to phase him as well through the ground.

Warren screamed as Kitty phased through him, and he fell to one knee, but he didn't loose consciousness, and he leaned on his sword to regain his balance. "Beasts, you take the form of the Lord's children, of the Lord's creations, but you are the children of Satan," he said, his eyes red with fury.

"Dude, look at you, you have wings, do you honestly believe God sent you? I don't to burst your bubble, but there isn't a God. You're one of us, you're just another freak," said Beast assuming a defense position.

"Blasphemer!" shouted Angel, lifting his sword high and lunging towards Beast.

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"Hum Storm?" asked Wanda, her eyes looking towards the mansion.

"Yes?" said Ororo, her stare fixed on Remy as he smiled at her.

"I think we're going to need to get back," she said.

Ororo slowly looked up at the mansion and saw three large helicopters landing on the grounds.

"Guys, that's their evacuation, they're going to take any kids they captured and kill them on tv, as a sign to all mutants worldwide," said Jean Paul, stopping next to his friends.

"We cannot allow that, we fight, and we will prevail," said Storm, rising from the ground, leading them towards the school once more.


	11. Chapter 11

**First Strike part V of VI: The Resolution**

Jason Wyngarde hid behind a wall. He didn't understand why his powers were not working. Ever since Voght had teleported them he had tried to change the soldiers perceptions, to make them see what he wanted, yet he had been unable to do so. He saw Amelia fall almost as soon as the fight begun. He saw Sean Cassidy using his fists, locked in battle with two soldiers, clearly showing his superior martial arts skills. And he saw Forge using his guns and Eileen using her powers, transformed into an electromagnetic field. But what could he do? His powers weren't working. He saw Amelia on the floor; he could end like her. Giving one last glance at the fight, he turned around and began to run towards the staircase, clearly decided to return to the safety of the Danger Room.

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Jean Grey saw the angry bird-like man moving his sword towards her friend. She was terrified; the bird was going to kill him and perhaps her as well. Without truly thinking, without guiding her thoughts, she lifted her hands towards him, and as she did her pure, raw telekinetic power flowed, hitting the Angel right in the chest and forcing him outside the room through the same hole he had entered. She instantly gasped and placed her hand in her mouth, clearly surprised.

"It is not like I absolutely needed your assistance my redheaded colleague, but I will not deny that it has been a pleasure to be saved by such green-eyed wonder," said Beast smiling.

"You're weird," said Jean looking at Beast, trying not to smile.

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Angel felt a strong pain in his chest. It was as if a train had hit him, but still he managed to stand up, staggering from the blow. He grasped the hilt of his sword when the intercom erupted loudly.

"Sir! We need help sir! The targets are compromised!"

Anger flowed through his veins. Spreading his marvelously white wings, Warren Worthington III began to fly as fast as he could to help his men.

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"Hit the ones in the left field! Move it Quicksilver!" shouted Storm, her lightning falling from the sky in the battle. The students of Xavier's school fought hard, but they were vastly outnumbered. Even though Jean Paul and Pietro had removed their enemies' guns, the soldiers fought head on, trying to get to the helicopters while they tried to stop them.

"Polaris can you repeat that trick with the helicopters?" said Blob, using his stomach to hit a soldier.

"I've been trying to… but they don't seem to be made of metal!" shouted Polaris, avoiding a punch from a soldier.

"They've must've known about father!" said Wanda, lifting her hands and creating a hex, causing the ground to shake and move like an avalanche towards several soldiers.

"Ma petite, watch out," said Remy Lebeau, gently moving next to Storm, firing an energized card towards one of the few soldiers with a gun, who was about to fire on her.

"Th… thanks," said Ororo trying hard not to blush as she felt the young man's back pressing against her own.

"No need for thanks, chere, you saved my life, I am forever in your debt ma belle," he said, fighting back to back.

Ororo did not respond, she merely continued to fight the soldiers in front of her, smiling.

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Sean Cassidy's fist hit the soldier one last time, and at last the man fell to the ground. The man formerly known as Banshee smiled, lifting his arms in victory. "I haven't felt that good in ages! It's almost like having my powers back!" he said, his eyes scanning the room, he saw Forge was firing his gun over and over, while a pair of soldiers avoided his blasts, and Eileen was sitting against a wall, her right arm bleeding, someone had realized that only the lower part of her body was transmuted into energy. He attempted to move towards her to see if she needed help, when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Astonished, he looked at it, and he saw a broad blue sword emerging from it. He tried to scream, but he was unable to speak, and slowly the world turned black.

Warren lifted his head towards Forge as the man in front of him fell. He flapped his wings and began to fly towards his new enemy.

Forge saw the young winged teenager fly towards him and began to shoot. However the Angel knew how to move, even in such a closed space and avoided every one of his plasma blasts. Angel moved his sword quickly, hitting Forge with the blunt side of it in the head, bringing him down. He landed next to the woman, and without remorse he hit her in the face hardly.

"No… not… like… this…" said Amelia Voght, slowly regaining consciousness. She touched Forge, the only one next to her and slowly both of them disappeared, turning into mist.

"Put them in the helicopters, we're leaving this place," said Warren, moving his sword swiftly, cleaning the blood off it.

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"Irene?" asked the woman known as Sage, her eyes fixed on the elderly seer.

"The first strike is almost over, the last player is upon the children, the next act will be even worse," said the woman, as tears fell from her unseeing eyes.

"Did you hear that?" said Samuel Guthrie, who had refused to sleep like the rest of the students.

"Yes but lower your voice, Professor Sage will hear you," said Bobby Drake, trying to keep his head down on his sleeping bag, next to his best friend.

Suddenly two figures phased from the ceiling down into the Danger Room.

"Help!" shouted Kitty Pryde, her cat-like eyes opened wide, holding in her arms a barely conscious Colossus, who was bleeding profusely in his human form.

"Cecilia!" shouted Sage, screaming to the woman on the other side of the room, her shout waking up several of the students.

At the same time, everyone heard a faint thumping on the Danger Room's only door, and Sage frowned her brow as Cecilia Reyes ran towards her. "Wyngarde… coward," she said, her cybernetic glasses informing her it was her fellow teacher on the other side, begging to enter the room and its safety.

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"We cannot leave him alone," said Beast, lifting the Professor's unconscious form from his chair.

"He's not there, it's just his body, his mind is lost," said Jean moving her arms behind her back.

"I know Jean, but until one of the teachers can sort out where his astral form is, we need to take of his body, he needs a place to come back to, doesn't he?" said Beast.

"The teachers can't do anything. They don't know where he is," said Jean dismissively.

"And you do?" asked Beast.

"I… I might be able to find out," said Jean skewing her head slightly to the left. "But we need that ugly helmet thing he wore when he told me the birds are not evil."

"Cerebro," sentenced Beast, holding Professor Xavier in his arms.

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Warren Worthington III moved outside the school, watching a fight between several of his men and the children and he prepared himself to meet them in battle, when a hand gently placed itself on his shoulder.

"My son, it is not necessary," said the Reverend William Stryker, smiling. "You have done a great job, we can leave now," he said looking at Warren's blue eyes.

"But our men…" said Warren, looking again towards the battle down the road.

"We have a contingency, don't worry, they have served the Lord well and they will be rewarded once they arrive at his side," said the Reverend, beckoning his pupil to follow him into one of the helicopters.

Warren sent one last look to his men, and then followed the Reverend.

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"They're loading them into the helicopters!" said Jean-Paul Beaubier, stopping next to Storm. However one of the soldiers hit him with the back of his gun in the head, making him fall.

"You'll pay for that," said Ororo, her eyes flashing with energy as a bolt of lightning flowed from her hands towards the man.

The soldier received the impact fully and he fell to the ground, and as he did he began to convulse, spitting blood.

"I think you hit him too hard," said Remy LeBeau watching as the man died in front of him.

"I… no… I… I can control my power… I am… a Goddess…" said Storm clearly confused, she looked around, trying to find out what was happening, and she saw as all the soldiers began to convulse all around them, shaking violently and spitting blood and other fluids. And in seconds they were surrounded by dead soldiers.

Wanda whispered in shock, covering her mouth in surprise. Polaris moved closer to Proudstar, who hugged her, stopping her from looking.

"That was gross," said Blob, watching as a soldier slowly died before him.

"I… I couldn't have," said Storm, clearly confused.

Remy hurried and hugged her, trying to comfort her. "It wasn't your fault chere… they're all dead now. They probably killed themselves."

"I have to agree with the displaced singing star," said Toad, bent over one of the fallen soldiers. "This series of convulsions is consistent with a chemical reaction within the body. They probably ingested suicide pills before arriving and someone just activated them," he said as he stood up.

"Look! They're leaving," said Wanda, pointing to the skies as the helicopters left.

"We… we have to follow them somehow," said Polaris, unwilling to release her boyfriend.

Ororo slowly lifted her head, she had felt so good in Remy's embrace. When she realized where she was she instantly separated from him, and looked towards the helicopters, so no one could see her blush. "Wanda, can you hex them? Attach some sort of spell that will allow us to find them?"

"I can try," said the brown-haired girl as she closed her eyes and began moving her hands, concentrating hard.

"Pietro, take Jean Paul inside, he's unconscious. The rest of the Brotherhood, secure the perimeter," said Ororo.

"Who died and made you leader? I tell my team what to do," said Polaris, separating herself from John and moving towards Ororo.

"You have a better suggestion? Then speak it, I have to check on Xavier and the rest of my people," said Storm, as thunder roared above them.

"There is no need to fight ma belles, Stormy here is correct, you can check to see if there are any more intruders, and we can check on the rest of the students," said Remy, placing a hand in Ororo's waist and leading her towards the mansion.

"Do not touch me," said Ororo, hiding a smile, but allowing him to lead her.

Polaris frowned, crossing her arms.

"Boss?" asked Blob tentatively.

"Do what the crazy one said," added Lorna Lensherr, clearly upset, "go around the campus, find out who's still here."

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"Do you require anything?" asked Beast, placing Professor Xavier gently on the ground, removing his shirt and carefully folding it, placing it below his head as a pillow.

"Leave us alone," said Jean, her eyes suddenly flashing with yellowish energy.

Beast felt a sudden chill down his spine, but he did as ordered and slowly left the room, closing the door behind him as he did.

Jean Grey sat with her legs crossed right next to Xavier's head. Slowly Cerebro's helmet flew towards her head, placing itself gently on it. She moved her hands, placing them carefully next to Xavier's temples and her mind spoke to his.

"Funny isn't it," she said as the environment began to change, as her mind entered the astral plane, "we used to come here all the time for talking, you were always lecturing and helping me… and now I try to help you," she said, her astral self taking form, her eyes opened wide in the vast emptiness of the plane. "Let's see if I can find you for a little chat."

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Ororo did not speak, her mind was elsewhere. She prayed to her father, the Wind, for his help in finding the kidnapped students and teachers, and to bring them safely home, as she walked the long steps towards the mansion. She almost heard his whisper as a soft breeze erupted next to her.

"Are you all right chere?" asked Remy as he walked next to her.

"Yes… just… worried," said Ororo, avoiding to catch his eye.

"Ororo!" said Kitty Pryde materializing out of the nearest wall of the School.

"Katherine!" said Ororo surprised, instantly thinking of the large quantity of dead soldiers down the road and how young the child was to see such things.

"Sacre Bleu!" shouted Remy as he saw the cat-like girl phasing through the wall like a ghost.

"What's going… is… is it over? Is that… aren't you?" said Kitty, surprised to see her idol standing there next to her friend.

"Yes. Let's go inside, call the teachers we need to find out where they took the children," said Ororo hastily, preventing Kitty from watching what had happened.

As they walked inside, through the broken doors hanging from their hinges, Ororo felt a sudden tingle in her mind. A strong tingle, stronger than before, she was certain her father was with her. Inside they found Professor Sage, examining a pool of blood, crouching next to it.

"You knew the attack had ended?" asked Storm crossing her arms.

"Mind your tone, I am still a teacher here," Sage replied, standing up.

"And I am still a Goddess," said Ororo, her eyes flashing.

"Five students and two teachers were taken captive, Forge and Amelia are in bad shape, they cannot do anything. We must contact Magneto," said Sage, ignoring Storm's words.

"Professor Lensherr isn't at the school? I… didn't know," said Kitty, looking at Sage.

"He left hours ago, the sun is near rising, we have to move fast, where is Xavier?" asked Sage.

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"Mr X?" asked Jean, her glowing astral form alone in the darkness of the Astral Plane. She squinted her eyes, trying to look everywhere, she just couldn't feel Xavier's mind. A darkness lingered nearby, she could almost hear its voice calling to her. She closed her eyes, concentrating. "No! Not darkness… Xavier! I need Xavier!!" she said almost screaming.

"Jean?" asked a familiar voice in the void.

"Prof?" asked Jean, opening her eyes again. Slowly a hand formed itself in front of her and she reached for it.

"Jean… help me, it hurts…" said Professor Xavier's voice.

"I… I will… I'm here Professor… come with me… I'll keep you safe!" said Jean, as tears fell from her eyes. She grasped Professor's Xavier's astral hand, and she pulled, and suddenly she felt herself returning to her body and she opened her eyes once more. She was inside Cerebro, and she saw the Professor stir before her.

"Jean…" he said, slowly opening her eyes.

"I'm here," she said, removing the helmet from her head.

"The children… how are… the children," he asked, opening his eyes.

"I… I have no idea, let's go find out shall we?"

"Jean… I can't… I can't feel my legs," said Professor Xavier, his eyes opened wide with shock.

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"I have them, I know where they are," said Wanda, entering the school again.

"How is Piotr?" asked Jean Paul suddenly, running down from the staircase.

"His condition's stable, he's asleep," said Sage, turning to see the child. "You had a concussion," she said, examining him through her cyber-glasses.

"I'm alright, I'm going to see him," said Jean Paul running fast towards the lower floors.

"No," said Ororo, creating a wall of wind to stop him. "We leave now, we have to rescue our own."

"You are children, you're going nowhere, we will contact Magneto," said Sage, her eyes fixed on Storm.

"Hey, if anyone is going anywhere that's us," said Polaris as she and her Brotherhood joined the rest.

"No, you guard the school in case they come back, we go find the missing students," said Ororo simply.

"No way, you always try to hog the spotlight," said Polaris angrily, moving forward.

"This is not about a spotlight, my team has a better chance of finding our friends," said Ororo, her eyes flashing.

"Storm is right," said Professor Xavier's deep voice.

As one everyone present turned to see the Headmaster, and their surprise was great when they saw him on Beast's arms, accompanied by Jean Grey.

"My X-Men will go and bring back the children," he said, as Beast gently placed him on a nearby armchair.

"Professor? Why… why can't you walk?" asked Kitty, moving forward slightly.

"I… have no idea. But that doesn't matter now, Ororo you have to go now, Stryker plans to," he said, but he was suddenly interrupted by Jean Paul.

"Kill everyone on live TV, we know," he said, standing up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Charles they are children, they cannot fight," said Sage.

"They defended the school, they saved lives, they have fought this men before, I trust my children," said Xavier.

"Then let us waste no more time, we're leaving," said Ororo moving towards the door.

"Chere, is it alright if I tag along? I have to keep watching your back, that life debt and all," said Remy with a smile.

Ororo blushed and tried to avert everyone's eyes. "Fine, with Colossus in the infirmary we're one person short, let's go X-Men, we have work to do."

To be concluded!


	12. Chapter 12

**First Strike part VI of VI: The Response**

The dawn was near. The morning grew closer with each minute, with each second. But the birds did not sing, the fading night did not assure comfort. The night was almost over, and they all knew their time was about to end.

"I am scared," said Alison Blaire, hugging herself.

"You are scared? YOU are scared?" said Jennifer Stavros, tears falling from her eyes. "My beautiful Angelo is pale, almost dead, he can barely breathe and YOU are scared?" she said with clear anger, gently caressing her boyfriend's hair.

"Jennifer, please. We are all scared," said Professor Hairsaw, touching her bleeding shoulder.

"It's cold in here," said Caliban, looking around the dark empty room in which they had been unceremoniously thrown. "Caliban doesn't like the cold."

"I agree with you Cal," said the girl known only as Catseye, her purple eyes scanning the hard stone floor.

"Is… is Professor Cassidy al right? He hasn't said a word since we were thrown here," said Alison Blaire, trying to shift the attention from her.

Sean Cassidy nodded slightly, smiling, pressing his hand against his wound. He had felt so good. For the briefest of seconds he felt alive again, he felt everything was right in the world once more. He hadn't felt that way since he had lost his mutant sonic powers due to excessive strain of his vocal cords. It was all gone now, in less than a second he had been defeated and humiliated, but still he tried to reassure the children, to smile and pretend everything was alright, while in his heart, he felt there was a small tingle of hope bursting to come out.

---------------------------------

"Let's just get inside and destroy them all," said Storm moving slightly forward.

"Although I share your resolution and determination, my resident deity, I must ask for caution. We are not aware of everything they possess in their arsenal, and we have seen that angelic mutant is far deadlier than any weapon conceived by man," said Beast, placing a hand on her arm. A cold look from Storm was all Beast needed to remove his hand.

"Then we bring the building down. It's child's play for a Goddess to change the pressure of the building and make it collapse," said Ororo with anger.

"With all your friends still inside? I think not mon ami," said Remy LeBeau, smiling.

"Who are you? Why are you with us? Are you a spy of the birds?" asked Jean while looking at him.

Remy did not answer, he merely smiled at the redheaded girl and she exclaimed in surprise. "You're the singer! Oh I know now who you are. Is that tall guy with the red glasses coming to help us too?"

"No chere, my friends and I… we parted ways," he said with sadness in his voice.

"Very nice but now it not the time for reminiscing. Piotr is hurt back home and we're here talking about a boy band," said Northstar, arriving and crossing his arms.

"What did you find Jean-Paul?" asked Kitty, her tail moving in anticipation and her eyes shining brightly in the night's last minutes.

"There is an easy way inside the building through the back door, it's like they are inviting us inside. The front door of the church is heavily guarded though," he said, pointing at the building across the street.

"I believe we should do a frontal assault, we enter full force, render everyone unconscious and free our friends, it is the best option," said Storm. "Especially if they are waiting for us."

"Our numbers are small, we might just add to the list of kidnapped students," said Beast, clearly disagreeing.

"Do you have a better solution to our present situation, Beast?" asked Ororo crossing her arms.

"I do," said Wanda, opening her eyes at last. She sat with her legs crossed in mid-air, surrounded by her red-pink energy, and her voice was final and strong, in a tone no one had hear her speak before.

---------------------------------

"Charles you cannot do this," said Amelia Voght, moving forward as the door closed behind her. Her voice echoed in the circular empty Cerebro room.

"Amelia not now," said Charles Xavier, as Forge gently lowered him on the chair in front of Cerebro's controls. "Leave the room, both of you, it will be easier for me to establish a bond with Jean and the others that way."

"Charles please, you were seriously injured using your powers, we need to see the extent of the damage," pleaded Amelia, moving forward.

"Children Amelia. Children I took from their homes, children I offered safe heaven to, children who are now in danger. Are you asking me to allow them to be hurt? To stop trying? Even if this kills me, I will attempt it, now out," he replied, donning Cerebro's helmet. "Forge prepare the Blackbird, have it ready to deploy as soon as I warn you."

"Yes Charles, whatever you say," said the mutant inventor. As he began to walk outside he gently placed a hand on Amelia's shoulder. Professor Xavier's wife looked at him for a second, and as tears began forming in her eyes she allowed Forge to lead her outside the room, the door closing behind them with a loud metallic sound. And as they reached the corridor, Amelia began to cry, and Forge gently hugged her, trying to comfort her.

"Jean?" asked Charles Xavier, his mind expanding, trying to find his students.

---------------------------------

"Mr. X?" said Jean out loud, lifting her head slightly.

"Not now Jean… remain silent," said Ororo, standing atop the only building next to the Church of Humanity.

"But Mr. X is talking to me in my head," Jean said, lowering her head.

"Good, that means he is aware of what is transpiring. Tell him that I will bring down this house of false worship. There is only one Goddess and I am she," said Storm, clearly angry, closing her arms and watching the cross atop the cupola, which crowned the building.

Not far from there, near the back door to the building, which was closed with several locks but without a sign of any guard, Wanda Lensherr slowly moved her arms, drawing signs in the air with her hands. As she did, the locks and chains began to rust and turned to dust, gently falling to the ground.

"Are you sure this is the best way?" asked Kitty, perched in the fire escape stairs, crouching like a cat, her eyes shining in the darkness.

"Yes, it is a simple plan that should work for everyone's benefit," said Wanda, gently placing her hand in the door.

"Wanda… when… when this is over… can you help me with this?" asked Kitty, looking at her furry paws.

"Of course, we will try to find a way to turn you back into a little girl," smiled Wanda.

Kitty did not reply, but a tear fell from her eye.

Wanda concentrated, closing her eyes, and slowly pink-red energy flowed from her hand, stretching itself, covering the door, and expanding all around the building. Wanda felt the pressure in her head, she was stretching her powers to the maximum, but she had to maintain control.

"I hope this weird plan she concocted will work," said Jean Paul, crossing his arms, floating closely to Kitty, his eyes fixed on Wanda.

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"Father we should eliminate those demon-spawns immediately," said Warren Worthington III, walking side by side with Reverend William Stryker, through the main aisle of the church.

"My child, those mutants' friends will undoubtedly come to their peers' rescue, when they do, we will have our twelve dead mutants, it is a number that sends a signal, a powerful number connected to our Lord," said Stryker, lifting his arms towards the gigantic cross in the altar. "And besides, Douglas here hasn't finished hacking into our country's TV networks yet, hasn't he?" added Stryker as he moved towards the side, where a young blonde teenager pressed his keyboard furiously, without stopping.

"It will be ready in a few more minutes, Reverend, I am almost there," he said without removing his eyes from the monitor.

"And the lord shall reward thee young Douglas," said Stryker smiling.

And that's when it happened. The building began to shake, while red-pink light filled the building from the outside, covering every window and giving an eerie look to the church.

"This is the work of those demons… the lights of hell," whispered Stryker. "Warren be ready for anything," he added, his eyes fixed on the main window, atop the closed front door of the church. It was as if he knew what was about to happen. The front door of the building exploded, and two mutants stood there.

"You have something of ours mon ami," said Remy Lebeau, a glowing card in his hand.

Beast merely growled menacingly, standing over the unconscious bodies of a couple of soldiers.

"Come and find it then, mutant," said Stryker with a strange smile on his face.

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"So? What does the eerie red light thing do?" asked Jean Paul looking at the inside of the building through a window. A second after he asked, one of the two back doors opened and several armed men ran with fear in their eyes, screaming.

"The demons have taken over! All hope is lost!" one of them shouted, as they ran down the alley, without even looking at the trio of mutants.

"That. It's a powerful illusion, I knew at least some of them would be swayed by it," said Wanda with a smile, releasing the still closed door. "And now the girls take care of them," added Wanda, looking up.

The skies roared in response as at least a dozen soldiers ran towards the streets, lightning fell in front of them, stopping their stride. Immediately several rocks fell on top of their heads, making them scream in panic and hit themselves. In a matter of seconds all men were down, unconscious and defeated, and slowly Ororo and Jean descended.

"That might have been too much," said Ororo looking sideways at Jean.

"I got carried away," smiled Jean, straightening the bedpan over her head.

"If you insist on protecting your head Jean, we need to get you a proper helmet," added Storm as they walked towards the rest.

"I think I'd like that," smiled Jean. "This one is a terrible fit."

"Northstar… let's show them what we can do," said Storm smiling as Wanda moved towards her.

"With pleasure," said Jean Paul Beaubier, closing his hands together. Concentrating he gathered a powerful beam of light and directed it towards the door, which exploded instantly.

"Let's get our friends," said Ororo, walking towards the building as the rest followed."

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Remy Lebeau's eyes were fixed on Warren Worthington, who had already unsheathed his sword and he moved one step inside the building.

"I advice precaution my newly acquired teammate, my heightened sense of intelligence warns me there might be more to this building than it seems," said Beast, placing a hand before Remy.

"Mon ami, I know how to take care of myself, but I appreciate the sentiment," smiled Remy.

"I… what do I do?" asked Doug Ramsey, clearly scared, standing from his computer.

"Keep working child, the Lord demands your job to be finished," said Stryker calmly, looking at the mutants before him.

"Father should I just kill them?" asked Warren.

"Not yet," smiled the Reverend.

Remy Lebeau gently moved Beast's hand from his chest and walked inside the building, gripping the card in his hand with more strength. Slowly Beast followed him inside.

"That's right spawns of Satan, come and rescue your so-called friends," said Stryker. An explosion rocked the building, and Doug screamed. "Your friends are arriving from the other side… I never expected the sons of the demon to know the tactics of war," said Stryker almost reminiscing.

As Remy and Beast moved forward they heard the sound of guns charging, and they turned to see at least two-dozen soldiers entering the building behind them through the destroyed front door. But two seconds later, Storm and the rest of the team appeared, walking forward from a narrow hallway, behind Stryker.

"We've got a Mexican stand-off now, don't we?" asked Remy, lifting his arm slowly. And that's when he realized his card wasn't glowing anymore.

"Take them," said Stryker simply, with a smile, and the soldiers began to shoot at the mutants with their plasma guns from all sides.

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"Bobby! Oy! Where are you?" asked Sam Guthrie, screaming at the top of his lungs, searching for his best friend.

"Here… now shh," replied Bobby's voice from the study on the first floor.

"Hey, I've been looking for you… you're watching TV?" asked Sam, entering the room.

"Shh," said Bobby, raising the volume of the TV.

"… this just came in," said the reporter reading a small paper that an anonymous hand had given him, "it seems the building of the Church of Humanity's is under attack by terrorists, as its front doors exploded suddenly, there seems to be smoke rising from the back of the building as well and a weird red light emerging from the entirety of the building, there is no clue as to what is happening yet, but we will keep you informed. We remind the audience that the Church of Humanity is the headquarters of a new religion that claims the sons of Satan walks among us in the guise of this so-called mutants, beings with uncanny abilities of varied sort…"

"There's no time for that Bobby," said Sam, throwing a bundle of clothes at his friend.

"Hey! What's this…" said Bobby, trying to figure out what was thrown at him.

"Put it on, the Prof says there's not much time," said Sam.

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"We're through Reverend, whenever you tell me all I have to do is press this little button," said the thirteen-year-old hacker, smiling towards his shepherd.

"You have done well Douglas, the Lord will reward you," said Stryker, smiling. He walked towards the altar, where the prisoners had been set on separate crosses, crucified and placed on a semicircle.

"Spawns of the devil, mine will be the last words you will ever hear," said Stryker, focusing his eyes on those who were still conscious.

"Release us or I will bring my wrath upon you and your false God," said Storm, struggling in her bonds.

There was a burst of laughter from the tenths of soldiers who sat before them, watching as if it was a spectacle.

"And how will you, when the devices I have placed upon this Church inhibit mutants as yourself from using your powers?" smiled Stryker.

"I am not a mutant!" shouted Storm in vain, as tears formed in her eyes.

Stryker smiled, moving towards Sean Cassidy and grabbing his chin. "Your eyes demon spawn show your anger towards us, but you dare not speak… why is that? Why is it you refuse to voice your anger? Is it your wounds?" said Stryker, touching the massive wound that Warren had inflicted upon him during their fight. Though he was in great pain, Sean Cassidy did not scream, biting his own teeth.

"Leave him!" shouted Professor Hairsaw, her cross had been set opposite her fellow teacher, on the other end of the horrid semi-circle of crucified mutants.

Stryker smiled. "Death will come to all of you mutants, monsters like these cannot exist. It is the will of our Lord, this monstrosities will die," he said, looking at Kitty Pryde's cat form, who had her face looking down, tears falling without stopping from her eyes.

"The Lord will it and I shall follow his word! The War on Mutantkind has barely begun! This are the first to fall, and the first victory goes to the side of light!" said Stryker, standing in the middle of the altar and lifting his hands, followed by a thunderous roar from his men, who lifted their guns and screamed in joy.

Warren Worthington III remained standing closely, his wings folded neatly around him, covering him. His eyes moved slowly towards the blonde mutant girl who cried heavily. He remembered the files he had studied before the attack. Her name was Alison Blaire. He couldn't understand why his eyes kept moving towards her. She was a spawn of Satan. She was evil. And still she was beautiful. For seconds he looked, while the Reverend spoke of the evil of mutantkind, and his words reminded him that the devil did his best to lure and seduce the good god-fearing people to his side, and he stopped looking at her.

"And so, with their deaths, it begins, start the broadcast Douglas, we must let the world know this twelve mutants are the first to fall," said the Reverend, calming his crowd.

And exactly one millisecond before Douglas Ramsey could touch the button to start the transmission, the cupola of the church imploded upon itself, and the roof seemed to fly away with ease. And everyone's eyes turned to see a young green-haired woman flying in the sky above them.

"The Prof thought you might need some help," said Lorna Lensherr, glowing with magnetic energy about her. A second later a gigantic black craft appeared, and several flying mutants appeared around it. A hatch opened on the Blackbird, and Forge appeared on it, pressing a button on a hand-held device. An electromagnetic pulse erupted from it, rendering every piece of machinery inside the church useless.

"Destroy them!" said Stryker, looking at his men, who began to shoot towards the destroyed ceiling.

"Avoid their blasts!" said Polaris, closing her hands and trying to lift every metal inside. "Cannonball take the hits! They cannot harm you! Iceman, try to freeze their guns! Darkstar, cloud their eyes! Scanner destroy their computers for good with your electro-magnetic form!" she shouted while avoiding the blasts.

A cloud of smoke appeared in the middle of the altar, and from it erupted several other mutants and Amelia Voght fell to her knees, clearly exhausted.

"Quicksilver get their guns! Proudstar, Blob protect the prisoners! Toad, Cargill get them down from those crosses, the rest just hit every one of these fanatics!" screamed Professor Sage, lifting a rifle and shooting plasma blasts towards the soldiers inside the church.

The Reverend William Stryker could not believe his eyes. The entire student body of Xavier's obscene school was there, attacking them, decimating his men. He didn't know what to do. He heard Warren's voice behind him, asking for advice, but he couldn't reply, his eyes were fixed on the destruction, on the explosions, on his men running from the fight, and he realized, his dream was dead. He panicked, turned around, and began to run away.

A bolt of lightning fell from the opened ceiling, impacting directly on Storm's cross, and when the dust settled the cross was no more and she was free, and her eyes crackled with fury. "Stryker," she said simply, looking through the devastation for her enemy and she saw him run away and flew behind him.

"You will all die here," said Warren Worthington III, lifting his sword towards the recently freed Sean Cassidy and the toad-like mutant helping him.

At first it was a mere whisper. "Not today," said Sean Cassidy smiling, "not EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR" he screamed, and a sonic blast erupted from his throat, his mutant power given form. Somehow his powers were restored. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, but he kept pouring his soul into the attack, shouting with all his strength towards the angelic being before him, sending him crashing towards a wall.

---------------------------------

"Stryker!" said Storm, firing a bolt of lightning towards the reverend, making him stumble and fall. "Your madness ends here, you humiliated a Goddess. You will die for it," she said, as thunder broke with strength all over the battered church.

"No Ororo, there is a better way," said Charles Xavier, moving towards them from the opposite side. Ororo saw he was sitting in a floating wheelchair, and strangely calm.

"He crucified me, he severely hurt some of us, he will never stop hunting us," said Ororo with anger, lightning flashing in her eyes.

"Oh yes, he will stop," said Professor Xavier, his eyes flashing suddenly. His telepathic powers were loose, and his mind touched his enemy's and for a few seconds their eyes were linked, and Ororo could almost feel the psychic energy between them. And when it was over Stryker's eyes were blank, and he did not move anymore, all he could do was drool.

"What… what did you do?" asked Ororo.

"I took his mind. I erased it. He is a tabula rasa, a blank state. He will never hurt us again," said Xavier, as a small trickle of blood flowed from his nose.

---------------------------------

"He needs help!" said Roulette as Caliban and the strange-looking Simon Mellencamp helped her boyfriend down from his cross.

"That's why they brought me for, move aside," said Cecilia Reyes, creating a force field around her, which repelled the stray plasma bolts of their enemies, as she began to examine the youngster.

"Press our attack! We're winning!" said Sage, moving forward, leading the mutants against the Church of Humanity's followers, whose numbers kept dwindling as some of them just ran away.

"You ok?" asked Quicksilver releasing Northstar.

"I will be," replied Jean Paul, trying not to look at Pietro.

"It would behoove us to start evacuation," said Beast, looking towards Amelia Voght as she began to stand up again. "There are too many of us and I can hear the sirens, the police must be outside, it would not be in the best interest of mutantkind to be found in a scene of destruction," he added.

Slowly Warren Worthington III rose from the ground. His ears ringed, his chest hurt, the force of Cassidy's sonic attack had been immeasurable. It wasn't easy for him to focus, the battle was ending, he knew, and he knew his side had lost. He would not allow it. He lifted his blue-tinted sword for the last time, and he threw it towards the nearest mutant, his aim true and strong.

No one saw it coming. No one felt it ripple through the air. No one could prevent it.

"Professor Voght, are you in a plausible condition to teleport the non-flying companions back into the Black—" and Henry Phillip McCoy could not utter another word, as Worthington's sword skewered him from behind, rearing itself in the middle of his chest, piercing his heart. And slowly he fell forward, and everything turned to black.

"Nooooooooooo the bird… the bird killed him," said Jean, gasping, breathing heavily. She screamed, releasing her telekinetic power towards all sides, hurling several students all around.

"Murderer!" screamed Storm, releasing a bolt of lightning towards Worthington, who was starting to fly away, hitting his face.

The angelic being screamed in pain. He could almost smell the burned flesh on his face, but he didn't let the pain stop him, he kept flying upwards, avoiding the flying mutants all around him, loosing himself in the dark skies, cursing the mutants as he did.

"I'll go after him," said Storm, flying up, but Xavier stopped her with a gentle nudge in her mind.

"No, we need your power to leave this place undetected," he said, as he saw the last soldiers fall or run away.

---------------------------------

"What the hell is going on inside that place?" said Terry Bushwacker, emerging from his police car.

"Don't know, orders are to just wait until the weird lights stop and to keep the crowd from getting closer," replied another cop, looking as several robed individuals fled from the building.

Suddenly a pea-soup fog erupted from nowhere, covering the entire Church of Humanity, and the skies went even darker.

"Nasty weather… where are we, London? What the hell is going on in that place?"

"Muties… trust me, they didn't like what Stryker was saying, so they went for him. His words are true you know, mutants walk among us," said Cameron Hodge, straightening his police badge as he spoke with his fellow cops. Unaware that as he spoke a cloaked jet rose from the church, flying at its topmost speed towards the north, closely followed by several flying beings, heavily disguised by the fog.

---------------------------------

**Epilogue 1:**

"Pointless, it was all pointless," said Nathaniel Essex, clearly upset, looking outside the Hellfire Club's window, his eyes fixed on the fading fog, on the remains of the Church of Humanity across the street.

"I wouldn't call it pointless, we did learn a lot about our enemies," said Emma Frost, moving her head backwards as Sebastian Shaw rubbed her feet.

"What did we learn?" he asked, lifting his eyes towards his lover.

"Xavier erased Stryker's mind. I never expected he would such a thing. In one single act we turned a pacifist mutant who tried all his life to not use his powers into a cripple who abuses defenseless humans with his powers. It is intriguing what he might do next," she said, smiling, sipping from her goblet of wine.

"But it costs us a very bright mind, I wanted McCoy as a student," said Essex, clearly angered, crossing his arms before him.

"Get over it, there are more gifted minds out there, now we have to monitor Xavier more closely," said Emma, grabbing Shaw's tie and bringing him closer to her. "Anyone have any ideas what he'll do next?" she asked, before plunging her lips on Sebastian Shaw's.

"He'll come to me," said the Black Queen, lifting her head slowly. She rose from her seat, in front of the fireplace, turning around to see the other members of the Inner Circle. "Some of his students are wounded, he will bring them to me, to my island. And there I can see what he has turned into, and what will that transformation mean for us."

"Are you certain Moira? Xavier has plenty of resources in his own school," said Essex, looking skeptically.

"His astral form was disrupted. He needs the advice of a mutant expert. And I am world's foremost mutant expert, or my name isn't Moira MacTaggert," said the Black Queen with a smile, lifting her goblet of wine. "And soon, Xavier's resources will be ours, and our little army will be the strongest on Earth, and we will crush it with Hellfire!" she said gloating, and her peers could do nothing but smile.

---------------------------------

**Epilogue 2:**

Warren Worthington III crash-landed on a riverbank. He didn't know where he was, he didn't care, all he cared about was the pain. He crawled towards the river, smelling its putrid smell. His body ached, but his face burned. He plunged his face in the water, trying to ease the pain. He remained as long as he could like that, and when the water calmed itself he looked his reflection. A terrible burnt scar now flaunted itself on the left side of his face. He screamed in anger and pain, spreading his wings.

"Poor poor Warren, he put his faith on the wrong Church," said a female voice behind him.

"Who dares? Who… who knows my name?" he said, turning around violently.

"I am your new shepherd little Warren, you are one of us," said the black haired woman. Suddenly a set of black wings erupted from her back, as she smiled. "We are more alike than you think," she said, extending her hand. "Come with me Warren, and I will give your life a new purpose, and all the answers Stryker kept from you," she said.

"Who are you?" asked Warren, looking at her hand.

"Call me Lilandra," she said simply, smiling at him.

Even though he doubted, even though he didn't know her, he slowly moved, and grabbed her hand, unknowing his life would never be the same afterwards.


	13. Chapter 13

**Curses and Origins part I of IV: Sex, Love and Teleports**

Thunder broke once more as the rain began to pour harder. Such was the strength of the storm, that branches were cut off from trees, and the dry earth had become mud in seconds. The birds had all flown to their nests, seeking refuge, while the winds blasted away in a merciless rampage.

"Chere," said a soft voice. Remy Lebeau stared at the sleeping girl in her bed. He thought she was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. "Chere wake up… you're having a cauchemar… a bad dream," he said in his soft voice, trying to assure the girl as he tried to wake her up.

"No… father… please… I can't… my friends," said Ororo, sweating profusely and still asleep, trashing in her bed.

"Ororo please," said Remy, grabbing her shoulders.

Contact was all she needed to open her eyes. "Begone!" she screamed as she saw the young man touching her. A wind erupted from nowhere, pushing him towards the nearest wall. "What in the name of the Bright Lady are you doing?! In my bedroom! Touching me!" said Storm, her eyes crackling with lightning and fury as she sat in her bed, looking at Remy with murderous eyes, covering herself with her sheet. Thunder broke again with even more strength.

"Relax chere, you were having a nightmare… again. You're trashing the weather for miles… I just thought it might be better if you woke up, nest ce' pas?" said Remy, slowly standing up.

"The… I… I am a goddess… it is my curse that my every emotion is reflected by the weather… I… I will fix this," said Ororo hesitantly. She closed her eyes, calming herself, conjuring a soothing breeze around her, and as she did, the storm outside calmed itself. After a few seconds she opened her eyes again, and saw Remy sitting next to her. "Get out of my room, never touch me again or the consequences would be fatal," she said with calm, yet her tone was final and threatening.

"Are you sure that is what you want chere?" said Remy, moving his head slightly sideways and smiling.

"Leave, now," said Ororo, avoiding his red eyes.

"As you wish my goddess," said Remy, allowing a small sigh to escape his lips, and slowly he moved towards the door.

Ororo did not know why, but she began to smile, and she threw herself back into the bed. And that's when it hit her, where were Wanda and Katherine? Why hadn't they tried to wake her up? Ever since the nightmares had begun, they had always been there at her side… where were they now?

Remy Lebeau closed the door behind him, and chuckled, he knew it was only a matter of time. Slowly he began to walk towards his room, like a thief in the night, until a voice made him stop in his tracks.

"She lies. She needs your touch," said Irene Adler, walking with a glass of milk in her hands, without stopping. "And you need hers, it will be the only way for you to leave the dark path you now walk."

Remy made no movement, no noise as the old blind woman moved away. And he wondered what she meant.

-------------------------------------------------

"At last it's over," said Kitty Pryde, removing her hood.

"Put that back up, we don't want people to see your fur," said Wanda, tightening her own bright red cloak.

"I need to feel the air, I feel confined under this cloak, and now that the rain is over I really really need it," said Kitty Pryde almost in a baby voice.

"Kitty, do you want to be you again or do you want to remain in this cat form forever?" asked Wanda, her bright green eyes moving towards her young friend.

Kitty did not reply instantly, her cat-like eyes closed a little, frowning. "Fine, we do it your way," she said, donning her hood once more. "And can you explain me again why standing here in this alley at midnight will help me be who I was before my parents come visit me tomorrow?"

"The alley isn't what we're here for," said Wanda, cryptically lifting her right hand and pointing across the street.

Kitty squinted her eyes, feeling her tail moving beneath her cloak. She saw a dark haired young woman and a very elderly woman standing before an abandoned building. The pair of women suddenly grabbed their hands and the abandoned building seemed to shake as a result. And less than a millisecond later the abandoned building had transformed, and Kitty could see a name on the stained window. "The Magick Box," she read out loud. "A magic store?"

"Where else would a Scarlet Witch get her magic from?" smiled Wanda. "Hurry up, the store's open for an hour only," she added, grabbing Kitty's hand and crossing the street.

As the door opened the young woman's eyes moved towards them immediately and Wanda hesitated at first but then moved towards the elderly woman behind the counter. "Ms Harkness… good night to you," she said with a friendly tone, eyeing the other woman as she spoke.

"Young Wanda, it had been foretold you would return. Did you manage to perform the spell of ever-growth?" asked the old woman with a smile as she moved several books from the counter.

"Yes, it worked perfectly. I… I come to you because my friend here has a little problem," said Wanda, removing Kitty's hood dramatically.

"Hey! I thought we were gonna be hiding me," said Kitty as her ears pointed out.

Agatha Harkness took one look at the young girl that looked like a human-sized cat and could not help but exchange a glance with the other woman who was across the room rearranging books on a tall shelf. "She used to be a girl or she used to be a cat?" asked Agatha with calmness, grabbing a pair of glasses and slowly putting them on.

"A girl! I was a girl! They just called me Kitty… and now I am one," said the young girl with anger, frowning her eyes.

"Hmm. Sarcee magic. It reeks of sarcee magic. Most sarcee magic is temporal… if the spell has not been reversed within twenty-four human hours… This will not be easy to sort out, wait for me here. And you know the rules Wanda, don't touch anything," said the woman, walking towards a back room, passing through a very loud curtain made of small metallic things.

"Fools you are to meddle with sarcee Indians, they are never trustworthy," said the other woman, moving her fingers in the air, creating a spell to move books around.

"That is so cool," said Kitty, watching the floating books.

Wanda did not listen, she was used to the black haired woman's complaints. Curiously she realized she did not know her name. However before she could muster a question her eyes were diverted. A big glowing talisman stood in a case in the center of the very small shop. Slowly she moved towards it, her eyes almost transfixed by it and she watched it intently. It was a golden talisman, which opened like a locket. Inside she could see five glowing stones, four of them were blue, and one was brightly red. And her eyes could almost see a star drawn between the five stones. She was entranced by it; a deep desire for need had erupted in her heart as she stared at the talisman.

"Move away now," said the black haired woman threateningly, lifting her arms in a guarding position.

"Wanda, listen to the lady," said Kitty, tugging at her friend's cloak.

"Shival Novarum chum et sumita," said Wanda, her eyes glowing brightly red as she did. The glass casing erupted and the talisman began to float in mid-air.

"No! Agatha!" shouted the black haired woman, but before she could cast a spell, a weird white light erupted from the talisman, and a white disc of energy appeared beneath the two young mutants, and they both fell through it.

"What's going on? What's happening?" asked Agatha Harkness, carrying several books and a pouch with magic powders.

"The girl… the stupid girl… the Belasco Talisman… it took over her," said the young woman, bringing her arms down.

"Her? She was the one the talisman was seeking? Wanda's got latent chtonic magick within her, the Belasco Talisman is ripe with N'Garai magick… they are mortal enemies… why would she be the Talisman's chosen?" asked Agatha with calmness in her voice.

"You are the witch, I am just your familiar," said the woman. "But you do know what it means, if they can't get back, probably all hell will break loose on Earth."

"Yes, and where they have gone, we cannot help them, it is beyond my magicks," said Agatha, lowering her head.

--------------------------------------

The sun slowly rose on the horizon and as it did, Charles Francis Xavier opened his eyes at last. He had not been sleeping; he could barely sleep any more. He sat on his bed, using his arms. He sighed as another day began. He looked sideways to the floating wheelchair Forge had created for him and he felt a surge of anger in his heart. His eyes moved towards the window. The morning sun's rays filtered through the half-open curtains. He looked at the chart next to him in bed. For the thousandth time he grabbed it, his sleepy eyes filtered through it.

"As the astral self was destroyed by the mutant-inhibiting technology it returned to the body with a phantom sensation of said technology, creating a massive electromagnetic shock that fried several synapses and caused severe harm to the spine, thus the subject was rendered paraplegic as a result. However the subject's mutant ability seems to have increased in strength, presenting power levels that are not concurrent with previous gathered data."

Charles Xavier read the chart once more. According to the doctor he would never use his legs again, but his mutant power was far stronger now. Small comfort he said. He looked at the wheelchair again. He hated moving like this. Slowly he began to climb it and as he did the door opened.

"Up there with the larks are ye? You never change do you accushla?" said Moira McTaggert, entering the room, her long white doctor's gown swishing behind her. "You need help?"

"No. I can do this. And contrary to your beliefs, I have changed. Or doesn't loosing the use of one's legs constitute change anymore?" said Charles bitterly, sitting on the wheelchair.

"Charles that is very much unlike yourself. You've never been a defeatist," said Moira moving closer. "How are you feeling today?"

"Tired… guilty. One of my kids is dead Moira, several others are harmed. Jean is comatose once more and I just can't find her mind, even though my powers are "stronger" now. Piotr might never regain his powers, Angelo Unuscione almost died, the school was exposed. Do you really have to ask how am I feeling every time you come visit me?"

"Of course I do, I am a physician, it's second nature to ask those things," said Moira, sitting on the bed, grabbing his chart. "Are you ready to talk about it? It's been a week," she said, without lifting her eyes from the chart.

"No. I don't want to talk about Stryker, I want to see my students," he said with anger, directing his chair towards the door.

"As you wish luv," said Moira, following him.

----------------------------------------

"Does it hurt?" asked Jean Paul Beaubier as he gripped his boyfriend's hand tighter.

"No, not really," said Piotr Rasputin, his gaze fixed upon the morning sun as it rose in the horizon. "This is a very beautiful place," he added as the morning breeze passed through them, carrying the salty smell of the sea.

Jean Paul rested his head on Piotr's shoulder. "Will the Professor send you back to your house? I mean if you can't access your mutant powers… and that awful wound on your chest… maybe he'll sent you back home. Did… did he say anything about it?"

"I have no home other than the school," said Piotr, without looking at his boyfriend. "He has not spoken about the subject. He is concerned for my health. I doubt he will expel me from school."

"If he does, I'm going with you. I am never leaving your side, never ever," said Jean Paul.

Piotr smiled, and finally looked at Jean Paul, and his smile became broader. "I like that," he said and sunk his lips on his boyfriend's, kissing him with passion.

Suddenly a terrifying scream could be heard, and Jean Paul had to cover his ears as he separated from Piotr. "Gods I hate him now," he said in a whisper.

Sean Cassidy flew around the small Scottish island, and when he saw the pair of students on the beach he flew faster towards them, slowly descending. Carried by the power of his sonic waves, he slowly silenced as his feet touched the ground. "Kids, let's go back to the compound, the Professor wants to check on you."

"Professor Cassidy must you use your powers like that? It really hurts my ears," said Jean Paul, slowly standing up without letting go of Piotr's hand.

"My powers had been gone for years lad, I just missed to fly that's all. Just pray you never loose your mutant power," and just as he said those words he realized what he had said. "I am sorry Piotr, I… I forgot."

"It's all right Professor. I am not sorry I lost my powers, I would just like to know what that means in regards to my attending the school," replied Piotr Rasputin, tightening his grip on Jean Paul's hand.

"There is absolutely no way you will be removed from the school, I can assure you that lad," said Sean, placing an arm around the tall young mutant's shoulders and leading him towards the facilities. "Professor Xavier has never even considered giving up on any of you. Let's go talk to him, shall we?"

"Nyet. Do us a favor Professor Cassidy, have him check on the other students first. Jean Paul and I have to do something that's been long overdue," said Piotr calmly but firmly.

Sea Cassidy looked at the young couple before him for a few seconds, trying to find out what Piotr had meant, as comprehension dawned in his mind he smiled. "Very well then lads, just don't take too long," he said. He lifted his arms and began to scream, his mutant-powers once more liberated, and he began to fly, propelled by his sonic waves, and he flew towards the compound in the distance.

"What do we have to do?" asked Jean Paul, tugging at his boyfriend's hand.

"This," said Piotr, grabbing Jean Paul's face and kissing him with passion.

------------------------------------------------

"Where the hell are we?" asked Katherine Pryde, her eyes lost in the distance. Suddenly, inexplicably, they had appeared on a deserted valley, with nothing but dust and dirt around them for as far as the eye could see. The heat was extreme and there was a red sun above them, casting its insufferable rays upon them.

"I… have no idea," said Wanda suddenly, her eyes returning to normal. In her hand she felt the talisman, and she could not let it go, for some reason she tightened her grip on it and gently placed it on her pocket.

"Where are we Wanda? What did you do? And why do I still look like this?" said Kitty, almost on the brink of tears.

"I… I'll find out where we are… just… give me some time," said Wanda, closing her eyes and sitting on the ground.

"I hate the heat," said Kitty, removing her long cloak, revealing a bathing-suit like costume which had her x-Men colors. The more time she spent in her feline form the less she liked clothes and the less clothes she had begun to wear. She sighed, trying to feel the almost non-existent breeze, waiting for Wanda to explain where they were.

-----------------------------

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"You haven't said a word since…"

"I am enjoying it. It has been a while."

"So you are alright then?"

"I am perfect."

"I was worried, thought you might feel a little guilty for this," he said with worry in his voice, staring at his lover through the darkness that enveloped them.

"There is no more guilt in my heart. Not after what he said to me in Muir the other day. He is as good as dead to me," said Amelia Voght, finally lifting her head from the pillow, her disheveled hair falling around her face, while a smile was etched on her lips. "Now my big Cheyenne lover, kiss me and let's do that again," she said.

Forge smiled at her words, and without hesitation he plunged his lips into hers in a deep kiss.

----------------------------

Ororo turned in her bed once more. She could not sleep anymore, she dared not to sleep. The nightmares had begun the night of the assault on the Church of Humanity, the night Henry had died. And all the nightmares where the same. Her father, the Wind, asking her to kill her teammates. She did not like the dream, she did not like what it implied. Suddenly the window opened wide and a strong gust of wind entered her room. She felt it against her bare skin, like a caress from a loved one. There were no words in the wind, there were no orders. She sighed. She wished her dreams were just that, but she feared, she feared her nightmares were more than dreams, and she wondered if she had the strength to fight them. Somehow she thought of Jean and wondered how the strange crazy girl was. She sat on her bed, her sheets barely covering her and just as she was about to stand up, she felt a deep pain in her heart, and a pink light covered her and she disappeared from her room.

--------------------------

"Mr Lebeau? Remy?" asked Alison Blaire as she opened the room to Remy Lebeau's room. She was dressed in a tight long shirt, which she used to sleep in. "I am sorry to come at this hours, but I've barely had the opportunity to talk to you and… Mr Lebeau? I am your biggest fan…" she said, entering the room. Her eyes looked all around the room, but it was empty. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders.

"Eavesdropping chere? Not very polite is it?" said Remy Lebeau holding the young girl before him, pressing his body against hers.

"I… I…" said the blonde girl.

"Shh don't speak ma chere, don't speak," he said, kissing her neck slowly, moving her hair to the side as he did.

"I… I…" said Alison, closing her eyes feeling her entire body shudder with each kiss, and then suddenly her kisser was gone. She opened her eyes, turning around, and she was surprised to see no one there. "Mr Remy?"

--------------------------------

He had never experienced this. This was not what he had ever felt. It was a thousand times better. Each kiss made him yearn for more. Each movement made him moan. And his heart had never felt so fulfilled. He felt his lover's weight collapse on top of him, and a final kiss on his neck. It was the perfect moment. It was the perfect everything.

Slowly Piotr Rasputin moved away from him, resting at his side. "Was it good?"

"Effing Da," said Jean Paul with a broad smile, kissing Piotr with passion.

It was during their kiss that a pink-red energy appeared between them and the pair of young mutants disappeared from their bed.

--------------------------

"Oops," said Wanda opening her eyes. Before her, all her teammates had appeared, and all were scantly dressed.

"By the Bright lady!" shouted Ororo, trying to cover herself with her sheet.

"Bozhe moi!" said Piotr, embracing Jean Paul in his arms

"Why are you all naked?" asked Kitty, tilting her head slightly.

"We were sleeping chere, it was night back at home, where are we?" asked Remy Lebeau, not worried that he was only wearing a pair of boxers.

"Sleeping? Weren't you two in Muir? Isn't it morning there?" asked Kitty at Piotr and Jean Paul, who did not answer.

"This is not fitting for a goddess," said Storm. A bolt of lightning erupted from her fingertips, enveloping her and her friends, changing their underwear and the sheet she held into their costumes. "Where are we Wanda?"

"I… I don't know. I think this is Hell. I wanted to bring us home, but instead I brought you here… there is like weird magic all around this desert place," said Wanda, standing up.

"Is this a dream? I've had dreams in places like this," said Jean's voice suddenly from behind them.

They all turned at unison, but it was only Ororo who managed to give voice to her thoughts.

"Jean! You… you are… a ghost?" she said surprised.

"Ghost? Me?" said Jean, looking at her body. "Nah, I'm just in my astral form. It's better this way. This way if the birds come they can't kill me like they killed poor Henry. I miss him," she added, lowering her head.

At the mention of Henry McCoy's name a collective chill ran down everyone's spine but Remy's.

"We all miss him," said Kitty lowering her head.

"Anyway if this is a dream it's not so bad, I've had worse dreams, and now I have my friends in it, it can't be that bad is it?" said Jean's astral form smiling.

"Well girl, we can make it a little bit worse if that strikes your fancy," said a deep growling voice from all around them. As one they turned once more, and a seven feet tall demon with purple skin and curiously wearing a vest sounded his knuckles. "It's not that hard, and the boss prefers it that way," he added. As he moved his joined hands forward, over a thousand light discs appeared all around them, and demons of all sizes and shapes poured from them, ready to attack them.

"What do we do?" asked Jean Paul, trying to look at all the demons.

"X-Men, defend yourselves," said Storm, her eyes turning white as clouds covered the sky and she began to levitate.

"Showtime," added the purple demon, smiling as he jumped towards the mutants, commanding his hordes to attack them


	14. Chapter 14

Curses and Origins part II of IV: The Rasputins

**Curses and Origins part II of IV: The Rasputins**

He led a good life. At least that's what he thought. He was very happy with his monotonous routine, with the almost mundane use of his mutant powers. Everyday as he got up he covered his face and hands with make up, in order to hide his greenish skin, made breakfast for his terminally ill mother and then went to work. A very normal, human life. Except his line of work wasn't as normal as he believed. The mutant known as Vincent had a fortune telling shop, and each day he sat in his dark, heavy scented room and used his hypnotic mutant powers on the gullible people that dared set foot in his store. The procedure was simple; he sat there, hypnotized them, made them give him all their money and made them bring all of their friends the next time. It was a very simple job, and it kept him out of trouble. It had been years since he had implemented this idea and the reputation of The Great Mesmero grew with every 'customer' that visited him. He had grown quite complacent with his life-style, away from the rest of mutantkind, living as a simple human.

When he lifted his eyes in his dark room, watching through the incense and candles at a young slim teenager with red sunglasses, he knew everything was about to change for him.

--

"Where are they?" asked Professor Xavier, his tired gaze showing a slight touch of anger, looking at Sean Cassidy.

"I don't know Charles, Piotr said they had something to do," his friend replied. "They're children, they'll come back when they want to."

"Sean I cannot find their minds, they aren't on this island anymore. I can read every person's mind on the island I can feel their thoughts, but I just can't find Piotr and Jean-Paul," replied Charles Xavier, looking sideways towards the bed where Angelo Unuscione laid.

"Charles that might be impertinent, I have very sick patients here that do not need you poking around their heads," said Moira McTaggert with calmness in her voice. Still Charles could feel something was amiss in his former lover's mind, but he couldn't truly pinpoint what it was.

"I am not reading their minds, I said I can do it, not that I am doing it. Trust me Moira I would never violate another person's mind without absolute need."

"Like Stryker you mean," said Moira casually and almost in a whisper, her eyes fixed on Angelo's chart.

Charles Xavier was about to answer when suddenly he felt a massive surge in the astral plane; several thousand minds were fast approaching the island. "We have company," he said, his gaze lost. "He is looking for me, I knew this would happen after New York."

Sean Cassidy started to wonder what his old friend was talking about, but a quick glimpse out the window clarified his doubts. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s massive Helicarrier was flying towards Muir Island.

--

"Kitty to your right! Gambit, take care of those in the left! Jean-Paul, take Piotr out of the fight! Jean do something!" shouted Storm, flying above her teammates, conjuring lightning bolts to disperse the demons attacking them.

"I can't find their minds, they're like mindless demon things, and I can't use my lifting things powers if I'm not in my body," said Jean, her astral form hovering between the fighters.

"Just because I lost my powers doesn't mean I cannot fight," said Colossus, stopping Jean-Paul from grabbing him and punching a demon in the face with both his hands.

"You are wounded Piotr, that's why she is worried," said Wanda Lensherr, her hands close and shining, firing hex spheres at the closest demons, making them crash into each other or sink in the sand.

"If the man wants to fight, then let him fight," said Remy Lebeau with a smile, grabbing a rock and charging it with his powers, making it explode with strength between a cluster of demons.

As the mutants fought what seemed to be overwhelming odds, the gigantic purple demon known as S'ym watched the battle in silence, his eyes moving from Wanda to Piotr, as if he was examining them. His yellow eyes were covered in a strange mystic light, and he continued impassible to watch the fight.

"She is the one, isn't it my pet?" said a voice in S'ym's head. The demon did not reply. "It looks like it, she is the one that will bring me to the traitor… and I can exact revenge upon him for exiling me to this barren world… but the other one, the one you keep watching… could it truly be who I think it is? It looks like him, but his aura… it's different, it's not what I remember."

"People change with time, my Queen," said S'ym keeping his eyes on the battle.

"Indeed my pet," said the Queen's voice in the demon's head. "Very well, bring them both to me, I have to see if it's really him after all these years."

"And the rest?"

"I have no interest in them. Kill them," said the Queen with a bored tone, removing the spell which allowed her to watch through his servant's eyes.

S'ym was once more in full control of his body and he sounded his knuckles again, getting read to fight. He began to run down the hill from where he had been watching and charged towards the mutants.

"Kitty, we have a problem," said Jean, looking towards S'ym who ran at them like a freight train, his massive form moving at unbelievable speeds.

"What? Oh… crap," said Kitty, jumping from a demon's head and kicking him as she did. She landed right in front of the rest of the team, who kept fighting right and left, and as her feet touched the hot dusty ground her eyes fixed on S'ym's. She concentrated, she knew she had to time every movement perfectly or else her plan would not work. As the charging demon approached, Kitty jumped, avoiding him, but landing on his shoulders, and with a simple act of concentration she rendered both of them intangible. She did not stop him, she allowed him to continue running while they were both phased, avoiding any injuries to her teammates. For a while he kept running, until he suddenly came to a stop.

"That was rude cat-girl, how can I kill you if I can't touch you?" he said, trying to grab the intangible mutant on his back.

"Here's a thought, don't kill me," said Kitty jumping from his back towards the ground, solidifying her legs as she left his back, kicking him with all her might. It did not affect him in the least.

"If I don't kill you I loose my job, and probably more than just that, and I do happen to love my job," he said, grabbing a nearby demon and throwing it at Kitty like it was a rock just as she was landing, making her fall under his weight. "N'astirh! Where are you coward!" shouted S'ym through the cacophony of the battle, watching right and left for one demon.

"You rang?" said a horse-faced red demon with wings, appearing from a light disc next to S'ym.

"Coward, instead of fighting like your brothers you hide in those discs," said S'ym with anger.

"I do what I must to survive S'ym. We all do," replied N'astirh with a nasty smile. "Has the Queen spoken?"

"Yes. The red clad one and the guy with no powers, take them to the castle, I'll take care of the rest," said S'ym watching the fight.

"Her wish is my command," said N'astirh making am exaggerated bow. His eyes glowed brightly for a second and both Wanda Lensherr and Piotr Rasputin fell through them, disappearing.

"PIOTR!" shouted Jean-Paul with shock as he saw his lover disappear next to him.

"We have to get out of here," said Jean's astral self, hovering between the fighters all around, with calmness in her voice. "This is the beginning," she added.

Ororo watched around the fight, they were severely outnumbered and two of their own had disappeared, she was uncertain what to do. She saw a demon slice Remy's shoulder and she heard him cry in pain, there was no doubt, they had to escape. Her eyes crackled with energy and a powerful wind rose from nowhere, lifting the grains of sand beneath them, creating a terrible sandstorm.

"Get together! Everyone gather here!" shouted Kitty, trying to get her friends all around her. She could not open her eyes; the wind was too strong. She felt Northstar's gentle hand on her shoulder, and soon she felt a rougher hand, which she knew was Remy's. It was astounding how all her senses had grown. Then she felt the ethereal touch of Jean Grey's form and Kitty concentrated, phasing her friends, while Ororo's sandstorm attacked their enemies, forcing them to retreat.

And then it happened. A burst of light shone between the mutants, and all five of them simply disappeared.

--

"They've been shouting at each other for half an hour, should we go inside?" asked Sean Cassidy, watching the office where S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Commander in Chief, Colonel Nicholas Fury had been arguing with Professor Xavier.

"I don't think he'd appreciate that," said Moira McTaggert, checking her charts, pretending not to pay attention. In fact she knew everything that was happening in her office. Fury was mad about the Church of Humanity's debacle, which led to several injured Purifiers and an amnesiac, almost catatonic William Stryker. Xavier was on the verge of using his powers to control Fury, but Moira knew it was not going to happen, or at least she thought so.

Suddenly, as they waited, a figure strode past them, without even looking at them. Neither knew who the woman was, but she sported the S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform and she unceremoniously opened the door to the office.

"Colonel Fury, you called me?" asked the blonde agent, entering the room.

"This is who I was talking about Xavier. You want that school of yours to remain open and your students safe, then you will accept a liaison to my force," said Fury.

"I cannot allow a stranger to live among my students, and I feel there is no need for my school to be under government vigilance," said Xavier, without looking at the woman.

"Do you think we will allow you and your students to go around the country hitting people and erasing people's minds? Next time you get attacked and some of your kids kidnapped, you come to us, actually she comes to us, Agent 15 will reside on your mansion and supervise any and all excursions outside your school. And if you don't accept, we're shutting you down and bringing all of yours kids to jail for a long long time," said Fury, taking a smoke from his cigar.

Xavier frowned. Where was Erik when he needed him? Slowly he moved his eyes to the young blonde woman in front of him. "It seems I have not a choice. I am Professor Xavier," he said, lifting his hand to hers.

"Agent 15, my given name is Valerie Cooper sir, but you can address me as Agent 15" said the young woman, shaking his hand without smiling.

--

"My head hurts," said Piotr Rasputin, sitting up as he did.

"Lucky you, my everything hurts," replied Wanda Lensherr, rubbing the back of her head. "Where are we?" she asked, looking around. They were in what seemed to be a dungeon of some sort, with iron cuffs hanging from the rock walls and bars on the closest door.

"Prison? Dungeon? Where are the others? Where is… Jean Paul?" he said, the name of his lover almost in a whisper.

"I… I have no idea," said Wanda, her green eyes finally setting upon her powerless friend.

Slowly the door opened with a loud creaking sound and a young girl walked towards them. Her face was covered in shadows, cast by her long hood and cloak, her golden tresses barely shown. She moved, her red eyes fixed on Piotr and slowly she spoke.

"Is it truly you? Are you who I think you are?" she said, her hollow, dark voice echoing in the moist dungeon.

Piotr Rasputin's face changed from mistrust to utter bewilderment. "Your voice. It… reminds me… but it's distorted, evil…"

"Answer my question," said the young girl, her red eyes burning brighter as she spoke.

"Da. I… I am Piotr Rasputin," he said, watching the young girl moving towards him.

The girl stopped for a second; cloaked in darkness her red eyes scanned the mutant before her. "You powers, your glow… is not there anymore, you seem like a baseline human now, what happened?"

Piotr did no answer. He stood up, slowly moving towards the girl. "How do you know me? Are you… it cannot be," he said, his face turning stone cold as he spoke.

"Da big brother, it is me, Illyana," said the young girl removing her hood. The red eyes had suddenly turned blue and her face was seemingly angelical. She looked no older than seven and she smiled as she saw her brother at last.

"Bozhe moi… Snowflake!" he cried in surprise, standing up as he did. Without thinking he walked the few steps separating them and he hugged his little sister, lifting her as a tear fell from his right eye.

--

"Stay still! I cannot make the blood stop if you keep moving!" shouted Kitty Pryde as she tried to make a tourniquet around Remy's shoulder.

"It hurts! You try to stay still with such a deep gash around your shoulder," replied the mutant known as Remy LeBeau, his red eyes flashing in pain.

"Maybe I can help you Mr. Singer Man," said Jean Grey, gently touching his forehead with her hand. She closed her eyes, entering his mind. For a second her astral form vanished, but it soon coalesced itself before them again.

"You killed him," said Kitty, lifting her eyes.

"No I didn't, I helped him sleep, he will not move now," said Jean smiling.

"Where are we Storm? Where are the demons? Where is Piotr? What is this place?" asked Jean Paul Beaubier, he was speaking very fast, his arms crossed before him.

"Silence mortal, I have to commune with the spirits of this land to learn of our location. Some sort of sorcerer clearly brought us to this ruin from the field of battle, we must be wary," replied Ororo, hovering next to an archway, which seemed to be the remnant of a window. The ruin, as far as Ororo could tell, had once been a castle, or so it seemed. She sensed a strange aura within and without the ruin, as it was somehow protected, and she knew someone was watching them.

"That is not good enough, Piotr doesn't have his powers now, we have to find him, I have to help him," said Northstar, clenching his fist with anger.

"You cannot help him, he is in the hands of the Darkchylde, the Queen of Darkness, Ruler of Limbo, she cannot be defeated in her realm," said a strange man, walking out of the shadows towards the pair of mutants.

Thunder broke as Ororo turned. "The only reason why you are still breathing is because you brought us here to relative safety from the fight, you will walk no further and you will explain who you are," she said frowning her brow.

"You have deep magic within young one, I recall meeting your predecessor on my journeys, you descend from a noble line that I can tell," said the stranger.

"Don't start with her bloodline, she gets crazy when you mention she's not a goddess," said Northstar looking at Ororo sideways. Before she could open her mouth to speak he continued his eyes fixed on the stranger. "Tell us about Piotr and this Queen, how can we save him."

"I told you already, you cannot, she has absolute power in this realm, her realm, and she cannot leave it because I stole her means to travel to Earth. For ten years I have been vigilant, keeping her Soulsword away from her, keeping her limited to Limbo. And you children have just ruined everything. She will go to Earth and kill everyone in it, after killing all of us here of course," he said, his ominous voice echoing in the ruins.

"Who are you?" asked Ororo, her feet touching the cold stone floor at last.

"My name is Mikhail Rasputin, I am Piotr's eldest brother. The Darkchylde is my youngest sister, and one of you will have to wield the Soulsword if you want to defeat her," he said.

--

"It all started years ago, Piotr, you remember Mikhail was very interested in the Dark Arts," said Illyana, her voice now sounded young and angelical. They had moved from the dungeons to a girl's very pink bedroom, and Illyana sat on her bed, telling the story to her brother and his friend. "He found a book, of the darkest magik possible, it was called the Darkhold. How he came to hold such tome I have never learned, but he did find it. I caught him in his room, he tried to hide the book from me, he was summoning a demon. He lost his concentration when he saw me, and the demon was angered, and it destroyed our house."

"Was… that what it was? I… I woke up, covered in rubble, my skin was covered in metal… momma and poppa were dead, I saw their bodies broken, and the two of you were gone, forever gone," said Piotr, trying in vain to contain his tears as he remembered. Wanda gently put her arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"We… we came to be here, to this dark place, and we… he is evil, Piotr. I have been fighting him for all these years. It might have been two years for you, but for us, ten years have passed. This place does not know time. And… he hurt me, he changed me. It is taking all my concentration to look like this for you, if I were to show you what he made me, what he transformed me into… you would not want to look at me ever again," said Illyana, moving her gaze, she could not stare at him. "I need your help brother. This is a place of magik, I have learned plenty but it is not enough against him, will you help me?" she asked, her big blue puppy eyes looking at them pleadingly.

"We need to find our friends. All of us together have more of a chance to help you," said Wanda, still holding Piotr, who seemed too shocked to speak.

--

Vincent ran, he knew they were still after him. As he run the people watched him intently. His profound sweat had made his make-up run, and soon his pale green skin became visible. He kept running, he didn't care anymore; all he had to do was run away from those teenagers, those damn teenagers. It had been most fortunate he had used his powers on the slim one, forcing him to keep his friends at bay while he ran away. Vincent kept turning on corners, trying to put as much distance between him and his shop as possible. He spotted a dark alley, and sprinted towards it. He breathed heavily, he was tired, he was exhausted. And then he smelled it, brimstone and sulfur, and a loud 'BAMF!' sounding behind him.

"That wasn't pretty nice," said a demon-looking teenager, with blue skin, yellow eyes and fangs. The demonic looking boy lunged towards Mesmero, forcing him on his back and began to furiously hit him over and over.

"Stop it Kurt, you're going to kill him," said Anna Marie as she walked inside the alley, removing one of her long gloves.

"No need to touch him, Kurt has him covered," said Scott Summers, gently touching his girlfriend's shoulder, stopping her. "Turn him around Kurt," he said.

"As you command my fearless leader," said the German mutant, turning the unconscious body of Mesmero around.

"Alex?"

Alex Summers sighed, moving towards the green man and he crouched next to him, roughly moving the back of his collar and inspecting the back of his neck. "He doesn't have it either, he's not the one we're looking for," he said after a while.

"Damn, another pointless chase. Where is the next suspect?" asked Scott Summers, removing his red sunglasses and cleaning them with a handkerchief.

"Canada," said Anna Marie, moving towards Mesmero.

"I said there is no need for that," said Scott without opening his eyes.

"Oh yes there is," she said smiling, as she kneeled next to Mesmero and grabbed his neck with her bare hand. After a few seconds her eyes turned as yellow as he were, and her skin turned green for an instant, returning to her usual more-than-white hue. "There was every need," she said with a wicked smile as her yellow eyes flashed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Curses and Origins part III of VI: Wielder of the Soulsword**

She sighed as she walked down the hall. They had cleared her entrance at the counter several minutes ago, and still the armed guards flinched when they saw her. They knew what she was capable of, they had all been briefed. One of the guards opened the twin doors and the woman known as Sage walked through them.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the man looking outside the window in the brightly-lit office, unable to stop herself from gazing through the window at the city below.

Shaw Enterprises Headquarters was the tallest building in the entire city, and Sebastian Shaw, its founder and Chairman smugly turned around as he heard the woman enter his dominion. "It certainly took you a long time to come. I expected you here sooner," he said, sitting on his tall chair in front of his desk.

"You know then?" she said, moving towards the desk, her cold stare directed at her former husband.

"Of course I knew my dear, nothing gets past my people, you know that," he said with a big smile on his face.

"You are really enjoying this aren't you?"

"Of course I am. My ex wife enters the very building she vowed never to step on, to plead for my help in reviving her poor dead teenage lover… it is a very enjoyable situation," he added, looking at her.

"What can you do for him?" she asked, at last turning her gaze away from him.

"I can bring him back. His mind is stored in yours, well you know how your powers work… you store all the data you come across, and most of it unconsciously, using your latent telepathic powers," he said, changing his position, moving forward over his desk.

"And his body?" she asked.

"I have an… associate… that can take care of that, I have all the resources as well as you know. I am the only one that can help you," he replied.

"Don't rub it in. What do you want in return?" asked Sage, crossing her arms and looking at her ex-husband with anger in her eyes. Sebastian Shaw did not reply with words. His wicked smile was all she needed to understand. What he was asking was tantamount to selling her soul to him in order to save her lover. Slowly she lowered her head, and agreed, signing a contract on top of the desk.

"I might have overdone it," said Jean, tweaking her lips, feeling a slight sense of dread in her heart.

"He feels al right, just asleep," said Kitty, her ears pressed to Remy Lebeau's chest. "He will wake up… won't he?" She tried to remain calm, but her acute senses were screaming inside of her. All of Limbo was alien to her, and she felt in constant danger, in spite of their host's assurances to the contrary.

"I'll say yes and hope for the best," said Jean in her astral form. "Hey since I am not in my body and I am sort of projecting my image here… want to help me pick up helmets? Ororo said I need something more protective than this…" she said, pointing at the silver bedpan projection atop her head.

"I don't think we should leave him alone," said Kitty looking at Remy, as Jean's hat began to change to a motorbike helmet, and just as fast to a World War I German helmet. Suddenly there was a burst of wind, and their eyes turned to the improvised door behind them.

"I will stay with him. The man that saved us wants to examine the both of you, he has already examined me and found me unworthy," said Ororo with clear anger, entering the only room in the entire ruin that was still complete.

"Ooh is that why the skies are so dark and full with lightning and thunder?" asked Jean, lifting her eyes up towards the nearby window.

"Don't push it," said Kitty towards her friend, grabbing her hand and leading her outside. "We'll come back soon Ororo, I promise."

"Do what you will," said Ororo, moving closer towards the bed where Remy Lebeau slept.

As the girls left the room, Ororo's eyes turned to see Remy's gorgeous features and she sighed. Slowly a faint memory erupted in her mind, remembering another boy, in another time, in what now seemed the very distant past. Thunder roared, and a tear fell from her eye. "I cannot… you… I don't want to hurt you too," she whispered, gently removing his hair from his forehead.

"I thought it was my fault," said Piotr Rasputin simply. He was standing atop the tallest tower of his sister's castle, looking at the sunset in the distance, though his stare was lost in the horizon.

Wanda stood by his side. She had been given clothes of the brightest red, with a long cape that protected her from the rash hot elements. She did not speak, she knew Piotr needed to speak for himself.

"I punished myself for it, I thought of killing myself. After all I had killed my family… Professor Xavier found me, talked me out of it, took me to his school, took care of me… and ever since… I had always been afraid… afraid of my powers, of my strength… of my choices… until I lost my powers… and now… I didn't do it. It wasn't my fault. All those years, all that guilt… and it wasn't my fault," he said, as a tear began to fall from his eyes.

Wanda moved closer, hugging the tall boy, trying to comfort him. Slowly she moved her hands behind his back, casting a simple spell to bring calmness to her friend. They stood hugging for a while, until Wanda's voice slowly broke the silence. "What are we supposed to do now? How are we going to find the others?"

"Illyana said she knows where they are, Mikhail has them. She said he probably has them under a spell, so it is very likely we will have to fight them," he said sadly, directing his sight to the horizon once more, feeling sadness in his heart.

"Just the two of us? Against Ororo and the rest? That'd be a short fight," said Wanda, sighing with discomfort as she imagined her friends attacking them.

"It's not going to be just the two of you, my army will join you," said Illyana's innocent form as she climbed the stairs towards them. "This is S'ym, my most faithful servant, he will lead my army and fight at your side," she said, presenting the tall purple-skinned demon who wore a vest. "But first, Piotr and I must speak alone, can you leave us Wanda?"

The young scarlet dressed girl hesitated for a second. Her eyes became fixed on Piotr, who gently nodded, approving her departure. Slowly she moved towards S'ym, who had his hand stretched towards the stairs, leading her. Wanda thought how weird it was to see the tall monstrous demon acting like a gentle butler, but she allowed him to lead her down the stairs.

Illyana waited until the faint footsteps of Wanda and S'ym became inaudible, and when they did she spoke at last. "Are you certain this is what you want? I have told you before, I cannot warrantee your powers will be the same."

"I know, but if we are going to fight Mikhail I need all my strength, and that means I need my mutant powers," replied Piotr, gently moving her sister's long blonde hair from her face.

Illyana slowly lowered her head. "In order to cast the spell, I must dispose of this illusion, you will have to see my true form, can you deal with that, big brother?" she asked, speaking in perfect Russian.

"Da. You are my sister, I will always love you little snowflake," he replied with a faint smile.

Illyana did not reply. She began to glow and slowly began to float. Her long pink pajamas began to move with the wind, and her hair seemed to spring to life, enveloping her completely. And as she moved in the air, as the eldritch energies became brighter, her form began to change. A pair of blood-red horns grew on her forehead, and her feet became hooves and her legs were furry and demon-like. A tail as red as her horns erupted from her back, and lastly her eyes became empty and white. She kept her head down, unable to face her brother, until he spoke.

"Mikhail will pay for turning you into this little snowflake, I will do anything in order to restore you," said Piotr Rasputin, lifting his sister's chin.

"Are you ready? Can I start the spell?" she asked brusquely, but slowly smiling.

"Da. I am ready," he said, closing his eyes and moving slightly backwards.

Illyana's lips turned into a wicked smile, lifting her hands in the air and plunging them towards her brother's heart.

It was near sunrise in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and never had it seen this much activity at this early hour. The teachers of the school were conducting a search of the mansion, aided by the older, most experienced students. Professor Voght was upset; she could not understand how this could happen. As her mist form scouted the grounds she felt a strong desire to kick herself. She did not want to make the call to Charles, she did not want to alert him that all of his students had disappeared from their respective bedrooms and no one knew where they were. As she moved closer to the school, she felt a voice calling her name.

"Professor! Professor Voght!" called Lorna Lensherr into the mist. The green-haired daughter of Magneto flew under her own power from the school, frantically seeking her teacher.

"What is it child?" asked Amelia, forming her face in the mist, hoping there was a clue to the students' whereabouts.

"It's Professor Forge, it seems the girl, Scanner has found something," said the young girl, stopping in mid-air.

"At last," said Amelia in almost a whisper. At once her mist form flew towards the school, entering the girl's dormitory. As she entered, closely followed by Lorna, she saw Professor Forge, Professor Destiny and a young girl known only as Scanner. She assumed her corporeal form and stood in the middle of the room. "What happened?"

Those present looked each other and then the girl spoke slowly. "Magic. I… there are residual magical energies. Not only here, but on the guest room Mr. Lebeau was occupying. It's… magic, but it sort of reminds me of that girl who always wears red, it's got the same aura," Scanner explained, barely lifting her eyes of the ground.

"Wanda," whispered Lorna, knowing her sister was bound to be punished for teleporting her friends.

Amelia turned slightly towards Lorna when she spoke and then looked at Forge. "Could there be in another concert? Again? This group tends to not follow the rules," she said, avoiding Destiny's eyes.

"I'll check online, see if there are any concerts near the school," said Forge, and he started to press buttons on a small handheld computer. "If all the students here are gone, don't you believe the same might be happening on Muir Isle? Perhaps we should call Xavier," said Forge without removing his eyes from his computer.

Amelia did not reply instantly. Her eyes moved quickly towards Destiny, who was staring at her with her cold blind eyes. "No, Charles has enough trouble as it is, if something happened in Muir he would tell us," she said at last, looking sideways, avoiding Destiny's cold gaze.

"My head hurts. Too much," said Remy Lebeau, slowly sitting up. His eyes moved through the room. He heard nothing near, not even the blowing of the wind, however there she was, floating near a destroyed window, who had been made larger than it originally was by decay. He found her beautiful and he knew she liked him as well, but he could not understand why she refused his advances, why she continously kept him at arm's length. "What happened?"

"Ask me no questions mortal, I am not in the mood for answering," she replied, her eyes fixed on the horizon. Ororo prayed to the elements for a fight, for battle, to keep her mind occupied and her secrets safe, she knew she was on the brink of revealing her past, she could not understand why but there was a terrible need to confess the sins in her heart. She needed to explain to him why she denied him, why she prevented her feelings from growing, but at the same time she knew very well she couldn't do it.

"This big attitude problem of yours has to end girl, it's getting annoying," he said, rising from the bed. "Why are you so abrasive sometimes? Your parents didn't held you as a child or something?"

Thunder broke with such strength the entire feeble facility shook around them. "My parents are always with me, the rain and the wind is from where I hail, do not presume you know anything about me," she said with anger in her eyes, turning towards him.

"Hey! Stop that! Bad Goddess, bad Goddess!" said Jean Grey's astral form, slowly entering the room, followed closely by Kitty Pryde, who was holding her head, afraid the few rocks that compromised the ceiling would fall on top of it.

Ororo threw a cold stare at Jean and then returned to watching out the window. "You are back, are all of you as unworthy as I am to wield that stupid sword?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"It seems Mr Rasputin knew from the beginning who was able to wield it, he just wanted to make sure," said Kitty Pryde, her tail moving behind her rhythmically.

"And who pray tell will use this sword in the coming battle?" asked Ororo, at last turning to face her teammates.

"What sword?" managed to ask Gambit, looking wildly confused.

"This sword," said Mikhail Rasputin, entering the small bedroom. Besides him there was Jean-Paul Beaubier, and in his hands a flaming sword shone brightly with an eerie white-blue light. "The SoulSword, made with the soul of my sister, the Queen who seeks my, and yours now, death. Jean-Paul can wield it for a very simple reason. His heart holds the soul of another, he holds the soul of Piotr, my small brother, and through that piece of soul he is connected to Illyana, and to the Soulsword," he explained with a grave look on his face.

"If it's all about souls and relationships, shouldn't you be able to use it?" asked Kitty Pryde, playing with her tail.

"I have no soul," replied Mikhail, with a strange smile etched on his face. And then it happened. A red light, of mystical origin, exploded all around them, creating a powerful backlash, and Rasputin knew instantly what it was. His defenses had fallen, the Queen was attacking them.

Ororo once more looked out the window, an entire army of demons, at least ten thousand strong, was surrounding the ruins where they hid. Tall among them she could see the purple demon from before, S'ym, and next to him she could see the Darkchylde, sitting on a throne heaved by four tall trolls. Ororo's surprise was great when she saw both Colossus, in his full armored form, and Wanda, wearing a strange scarlet costume, side by side with the Dark Queen, ready to strike upon them, but her eyes were quickly diverted to several massive flaming projectiles heading their direction. "Incoming!" she managed to shout, as a great stone writhed in flames crashed between them from the skies.

A pair of big yellow eyes slowly opened themselves, there was no light around him, there were no sounds, no signs of life. Yet he still opened his eyes. The time was near. Eldritch energy began to surrond him slowly, rising from beneath him, enveloping him like an old lover, gently caressing him, and he smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, he could feel the acrid smell of his own breath, and slowly he spoke.

"My children are fighting again… the circle is about to be completed. My time in this prison nears its end. And when I return they will pay for they affrontery," he said, and he laughed, a maniacal laugh that filled the darkness of his damp prison in the deep confines of Limbo.

Ororo's winds roughly destroyed the wall before her and she commanded her small troops with fiery words and resolute tone. "Jean go to Wanda, see if you can talk to her! Katherine, you will handle Colossus. Lebeau, Rasputin, you handle those demons next to the Queen, Northstar you—" but before she could actually give him orders he had already began to run towards the Darkchylde, their eyes fixed on each others.

Jean-Paul Beaubier lifted the SoulSword high, ready to strike at the Queen with it, his speed was so great it was near impossible to see him with the naked eye. And as he moved to strike, the felt the sword stop in mid-air and his surprise was sudden as he saw a pair of metallic hands stopping him.

"No Jean-Paul, you will not kill my sister," said Colossus, his eyes were as red as Illyana's and his voice was far more hollow and metallic than usual. Slowly, Colossus began to grow in size, his skin of organic steel began to transform itself into an armor. No longer he merely resembled a man of steel, now he had strong, spiked shoulderplates, a heavy helmet, and his hands had claws of the strongest metal. "I will not allow you to bring harm," said Colossus, closing his gigantic fist and hitting Jean-Paul, sending him to the ground.

"That wasn't nice, bad metal man! Bad!" said Jean's astral form, appearing next to them.

"I've been wanting to shut you up for a long while," said Wanda Lensherr with a wicked smile, moving her hands swiftly, casting an hex sphere as she did. Pink-red energy flew from her hands, impacting directly on Jean Grey, forcing her to the ground as well. But as soon as she touched the ground, Jean's astral form slowly dissipated, and her body appeared on the battlefield, unconscious and unmoving.

"Begone!" shouted Storm, her winds holding the brunt of the army at length watching as her friends fell one after the other. Her eyes scanned the field, she could see Kitty running towards Colossus like she ordered, she could see Remy throwing his glowing cards at a group of demons, but she could not see Mikhail Rasputin anywhere. Her eyes moved them to the Queen, who sat on her throne, laughing as she saw her troops advancing. Ororo's eyes flashed with fury and she lifted her hands towards the Darkchylde, and the skies themselves seemed to open in return, throwing a massive bolt of lightning towards the Queen of Limbo.

With astounding ease, Illyana merely waved her right hand, and the lightning avoided her. "Please, the elements cannot harm one as attuned to magic as I am," she said almost laughing. "You have to do better than that," she added, her voice magically augmented through the battlefield.

"I can do better, fight me without help and you will fall," said Jean-Paul, using the SoulSword to rise on his feet.

"Let me think about it… no thank you, not interested. Piotr, kill that boy and bring me my Sword," said Illyana, pointing at the long black-haired youth.

"As you wish," replied Colossus cold voice and he began to run towards his lover, ready to kill him at his sister's bequest.

"Charles!" shouted Moira McTaggert as she run through her facility towards the helipad. Her eyes were fixed on the man she once loved, watching him board the helicopter, she closed them and concentrated, shouting in her mind. "Stop! Don't go!"

"What is it now Moira?" he asked, his voice sounded very tired and old, but there was no need for Moira to answer, he knew Jean was gone from her bed, he sighed, tired of the endless misteries surrounding his dissapearing students, when Jean's astral form suddenly materialized before him, her bright green eyes were wide open, and there was a smile on her face.

"Professor! I made it! Cool!" she said, her red hair flowing behind her. "There's a situation, we're trapped in hell, all of us, the God Girl, the metal boy, his boyfriend, the cat-kid, the singer man and the scarlet one. We're all here fighting demons and thigns like that. It's not as fun as it sounds. It would be nice if you came and got us home because we don't really want to stay here, I mean, I know I don't want to stay here, I can't speak for the rest. So do come and rescue us, please?" as Jean's words ended, her astral form began to dissipate once more, leaving Charles Xavier far more confused than before.

"What was that all about?" asked Sean Cassidy, removing his headphones and looking at Charles.

"I wouldn't mind an explanation either," asked Agent 15, tightening her ponytail and slowly placing a helmet above her head.

"I know where the kids are… we need to make a stop before we return to the United States Sean," said Charles, at last placing his seatbelt, his eyes focused on the sky. "We need to go to Wundagore Mountain if we are to save my students," he said as the helicopter began to raise, leaving Muir Island. "We need Erik's help for this," he added.

As the helicopter left, Moira McTaggert's eyes followed it slowly, watching it change its supposed path, flying towards a different destination. Her cell phone rang and she answered automatically.

"He just departed. He left a couple of his students here in the hospital," she said, without removing her eyes from the helicopter. "He's going somewhere else, he's not heading towards Heathrow. Yes he left his blackbird here. I have no clue why, do you think I can read his mind?" she replied angrily at the phone. "I will take care of the plane, I know what must be done, you start working on where's he going, we need to keep close tabs on him," she said, ending the conversation and closing her phone.

Moira sighed, slowly lowering her head. "Damn you Charles, damn you for making me work with these lunatics," she whispered. Slowly she gripped her chart closer to herself and turned around, walking towards her mutant research facility.

Back > Next  
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	16. Chapter 16

**Curses and Origins part IV of VI: The Awakening**

The birds chirped with glee as they flew above their heads, cheerfully chanting as they passed by the people below. The sun illuminated the entire park, providing warmth and joy on the mid-spring morning to the blessed few who had decided to skip work and take their kids to the park. Amidst the families that enjoyed themselves, the single people that walked their dogs, the ones that run or made exercise, the ones that fed the birds, was an odd-looking couple enjoying a picnic. The man was clearly in his mid-to-late thirties, while the woman feeding him treacle tart could not be more than twenty years old. He was short and hairy, and she was tall and beautiful. In spite of their notorious age difference the couple seemed perfect for each other and their smiles reflected their feelings. They were having a good time, enjoying each other's company and the morning itself. It wasn't meant to last for long.

Slowly the people stopped running around them, the kids no longer threw their Frisbees near them, the dogs didn't want to be walked where they were, and slowly but surely the entire area of the park got deserted, leaving alone the odd-looking couple. It didn't take long for him to realize something was afoot. He used his nose, his most reliable method of tracking and he knew things were not going to be easy.

"Pumpkin' fly away, now. Get out of here as fast as you can and call the rest of the team, do it now," he said, slowly standing up.

"Logan? What… what's going on mon amour?" asked the young woman known as Jeanne Marie Beaubier, following him and standing up.

"Nothing, get away, now," he said, quickly extending a trio of metal claws from the back of each hand.

Before the young mutant superheroine known as Aurora could ask once more what was going on, a blast of pure-red energy appeared from out of nowhere and it hit her boyfriend straight on the chest, making him fall backwards with its sheer force, his claws retracting themselves as he fell.

"Sacre--!" she was able to utter, when a bolt of plasma energy hit her from behind, making her fall forwards.

"Fast and easy Marauders, check to see if this is the prey we hunt for," said Scott Summers, placing his ruby-red sunglasses back on. The Marauders moved as one, slowly circling the fallen Canadian heroes, looking at them intently. The young woman known as Rogue smiled wickedly, trying to remove one of her long gloves, but as she did Scott grabbed her still-covered arm. "If you touch her you alert her brother, and if you touch him… don't touch them Anna, not this time."

"This was way too easier than the boss told us, nein?" said Kurt Wagner, the boy who looked like a blue demon, moving towards the fallen hero Wolverine. And then a "snikt" sound could be heard.

"You should trust your boss, kid," said Wolverine, moving his arm towards the demon, trying to pierce him with his claws. Unfortunately for him, the Night Crawler was able to teleport himself, and when he saw the claws moving towards him he disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving a stench of brimstone and sulfur around him, confusing his senses.

"Let's just fry him," said the youngest of them all, Alexander Summers, raising his hands towards the fierce mutant who was standing up again.

"Not while I live," said Aurora, releasing a blast of pure white light towards the blonde mutant, making him stagger and move backwards a couple of steps. At the speed of thought, Aurora sent a flare up high towards the sky, calling for reinforcements. "In less than twenty seconds you will have Alpha Flight with us so you better surrender right now."

"Nice bluff girl, but I doubt your team even knows where you are, you see we did manage to take care of that before trying to ambush you," said Summers, gently caressing his glasses, ready to remove them in a second.

"I'm not in the mood for talking," said Wolverine, crossing his claws before him and gaining impulse on his back legs. With all his strength he jumped towards Summers, who immediately removed his glasses and fired a beam of red energy towards the lunging berserker mutant.

Suddenly Wanda Lensherr became still. All around her the fight raged, demons attacking her possessed friends. She could see the singer, Remy Lebeau doing his best to stop them, she could see her friend, Storm, fighting Illyana with seemingly useless attacks, while holding most of the army at bay. She could see Kitty and Jean-Paul trying to stop Colossus, but the metal-giant's eyes were red with fury and he moved forward, trying to stomp them. She could see Jean on the floor, unmoving. And that's when she felt it. It began as a slow heat on her chest, but she knew it wasn't from her body, it was the talisman, the talisman that had chosen her. And slowly she clutched it with her right hand, as it began to glow uncontrollably.

The frustration began to show on Ororo's face. Every attack she tried, every lightning bolt, blizzard, wind or rain, was easily deflected by the Dark Queen of Limbo. And what was making her even angrier was that the young girl kept laughing as she tried her best to attack her. But then Ororo's attack did have a much expected effect. Having Illyana concentrated on deflecting the weather-goddess's attacks allowed her brother to enter the field of battle.

Mikhail Rasputin suddenly appeared behind his sister's back, and he put a blood-stained knife to her throat. "You know what this knife is, you know what I did with it, you know it is bound by magic. Stop your army or suffer the consequences."

Illyana frowned, but didn't speak. She merely waved her hand and all her demons suddenly fell through Limbo's stepping discs, removed from the battle.

"Good, now you will give it to me so I can destroy it," he said, placing the knife even closer to her throat.

"This is about it? You think I have it? What sort of mad game are you talking about? You have it!" said Illyana with an expression of surprise on her face.

And several things happened at the same time right then and there.

Jean-Paul Beaubier didn't know why he did it, but a voice in his head commanded him to do so. Without hesitation, without thinking he plunged the Soulsword straight into Colossus's heart. However the mutant had not seen that poor Kitty Pryde was trying to scratch Colossus's head from behind, and so she was stabbed as well. Jean-Paul removed the sword, but no blood came from it, and the man he loved clutched his heart and fell to the ground, and so did Shadowcat.

The heat had become unbearable, and her eyes glowed with pure evil, and Wanda Lensherr screamed, holding the talisman close to her heart. Slowly she began to levitate, red energy pouring from her eyes, surrounding her in an eerie fashion. And after a few seconds she began to laugh, a wicked crackled laugh that was not her own. The voice seemed older than time itself, and fouler and more evil than the voice of the devil himself. And he spoke with glee, through the young mutant's lips, controlling her every move. "At last! I am free!" he screamed, and the skies turned darker than they had ever been.

"Great idea for you to make me scatter my army, now we're all dead, big brother," said Illyana looking sideways to her brother, who slowly removed the knife from her neck. "I did tell you I didn't have it…" she added, almost smiling.

Ororo had seen Jean's body appear, and slowly she levitated to her side, her eyes fixed on Wanda, who seemed oblivious to them.

Remy came close, and Ororo silently moved her hands towards him and towards Jean. "Take her away, I don't care where, just keep her safe," she said, gently moving Jean's hair from her face. The child's forehead burst with fever.

"And you chere? Who will protect you?" he asked, taking Jean in his arms.

"I am a Goddess," she reminded him with a smile.

"Then allow me to do something blasphemous," he replied, plunging his lips into hers, without asking for permission.

Ororo felt her blood rush, her face turn red, and the skies turning darker, and wind erupt from nowhere. She could feel the lightning forming over them, she knew what was going to happen. Using all of her strength she created a powerful gust of wind, sending Remy and Jean as far as she could, and two seconds later a massive bolt of lightning fell where Remy would have been instead. "Fool! Don't do such things!" she said, her face blushing still, her heart racing like never before.

"Ouch! That hurt!" said Jean Grey, slowly opening her eyes. The first she did was look at her hands. "Oh great, now I am here and my body is there… I cannot catch a break," she sighed. She studied her surroundings, it looked very much like the school's infirmary. "Why is it that every time I wake up I do it in a hospital?" she asked herself out loud. She gently floated from her bed, her astral form had been given physical form, and she was akin to a ghost, a ghost that emanated a faint glow of yellow and red, very much like the glow created by fire.

Jean could see several other students from Xavier's laying in beds next to her, but most were asleep or trying to do so. She recognized the giant child-like being known as Caliban, the pretty girl who liked to sing and made light with her hands, the guy that couldn't touch and the blonde Russian girl whose name she did not know. Jean gently moved through them, trying to reach the Professor with her mind, but her telepathic powers didn't respond, there was something stopping them, there was something stopping her. She felt an invisible barrier around herself and she did not like it. She tried to break it at first, but soon realized it was not going to be possible. Instead she decided to explore the area on her own, floating around like the ethereal being she now was.

Wanda kept looking at her hands, feeling the dark magic flowing through them. She smiled, it was even more powerful than she expected. "So this is what the other side of evil feels like… I must admit, I approve of it," she said in the wicked voice that wasn't her own.

"Which one of you two is doing this? Release my friend at once!" said Ororo, descending in front of Illyana and Mikhail, the skies resounding with thunder as she spoke.

"Silence 'Goddess', we are not doing anything. It's him, he is back," said Illyana, her gaze fixed on Wanda. "I have managed to create a spell of protection, he cannot see us, at least for now, Mikhail can you?" she said in her fakest sweetest voice.

"I already reinforced it, good thinking, without seeing us he cannot destroy us," said the older Rasputin, smiling.

"Are my friends protected by the same spell?" asked Ororo, looking at Jean Paul crouching next to Piotr and Kitty not far from them.

"Of course, the last thing we want is for him to get the Soulsword, then we'd truly be in trouble," said Mikhail. "Now we need to leave before he realizes we're here."

"Flee? Always thinking like a coward you are brother. We must attack now, he is weak, he just awoke, he has to acclimate himself to the new body," said Illyana, her eyes crackling with energy as she spoke

"Attack him now and he will eviscerate you, he's got chtonic magick now, can't you feel it? Chaos Magic of the highest level," Mikhail responded.

"What are you two talking about? Why do you keep referring to Wanda as a he? I demand answers!" said Ororo, doing her best to control herself and the thunders above.

"Your so-called friend is no longer in control. Someone is possessing her, the someone responsible for our stay in Limbo, the one who made Mikhail here kill our adoptive parents. His name is Belasco, and he is our blood father," said Illyana, her eyes fixed on Wanda.

"Piotr… please wake up, I didn't mean it… I didn't want to hurt you," he said, tears forming in his eyes. He didn't see Wanda in the distance, flowing and laughing madly, he didn't even see as Kitty Pryde slowly changed from her cat form to her regular human form, his eyes were fixed on his boyfriend. And slowly, Colossus's eyes opened and he began to raise, slowly sitting in place.

"Ouch. Remind me never to make you angry again," he said, sitting up. Piotr looked at his hands, his body had turned back to human as well, he was made of metal no more.

"Piotr!" exclaimed Jean-Paul, kissing his boyfriend with passion in the blink of an eye, the Soulsword abandoned next to him.

Colossus smiled, slowly removing his boyfriend from his arms. "How did you… what happened? I cannot seem to recall," he said, looking again at his human hands.

"The sword… it disrupts magic… it can… stop it," said Jean-Paul his gaze lost.

"That means… that means I am human again, the armor… it was made by Illyana… I don't have my powers still," said Piotr, trying, and failing, to hide his sorrow.

"Me too! I am human!!" said Kitty watching herself. A huge smile etched on her lips as she phased herself between the couple. "My powers are intact still, and I look human again! Thank you thank you thank you!" she said, hugging Jean-Paul as she did.

"What is this place?" asked Jean to herself as she kept moving through the vast complex. It seemed like a hospital, but somehow she knew it was much more than that. Her head tingled, guiding her through the empty hallways, somehow being able to avoid the scientists and medics that roamed through them. And the tingling beckoned her to move downwards, to go to the lower levels. And she slowly phased through the ground, being an ethereal astral form had its advantages. "Cool, I am like the cat-girl now," she said smiling. But her smile faded as she reached a vast chamber, hidden deep within the rock.

Almost out of instinct she made herself lighter than light, hiding herself, watching the scene in the chamber. She saw several young mutants, but none of them she recognized. There was a giant red dragon filling most of the room, and she could see a set of blonde twin mutants, a boy and a girl, shooting energy at it. She also saw a girl made of lava and another girl with purple hair, as well as a boy who shone brightly with dark energy and a small child looking from the distance, hiding himself.

The girl with purple hair suddenly looked up, her gaze distracted, no longer watching the battle between the dragon and the twins. Her eyes scanned the ceiling, she knew there was something there. And then she could see it, an astral form, hiding on the ceiling, spying on them. The young teenager smiled and concentrated, releasing a massive bolt of psionic energy towards the unsuspecting form.

Jean felt pain, and she fell through the ceiling, through the vast chamber, and as soon as she hit the ground her eyes were fixed on the purple-haired girls' and a shudder ran through her spine. Jean did not hesitate, did not doubt it, and she immediately floated upwards with her topmost speed.

"What's going on? The battle does not amuse you," asked the lava girl, looking at her friend.

"No Amara, it needs to stop. There is a spy on the island. Make them stop, I will warn Doctor McTaggert about this," said the purple-haired girl, closing her eyes and extending her mind as she did.

The helicopter kept moving towards the East, the sun beginning to shine even brighter as it did. Silenced had dominated most of the flight, until the Agent number fifteen of S.H.I.E.L.D. opened her mouth to speak.

"What is it you're trying to accomplish, Xavier? Do you think you're actually going to make humans like your kind?" she asked, looking downwards at the east Europe village they passed. "This people don't even know what a tv is, do you really think they will accept your kind?"

Charles Xavier did not respond, he kept silence at the words of the human agent, his mind was focused in finding his best friend's, he was trying to find Magneto.

Sean Cassidy could not contain himself though, he heard Agent 15's words and he frowned as she finished talking. "At least we're trying to make things better, rather than just sit around and wait for your people to come kill us all," he said, his eyes fixed on the mountain.

Agent 15 laughed in response, and she kept watching in silence as they flew. She didn't recognize the countryside below, nor she cared. All she could think about was her mission, and to keep her mental barriers high, she wasn't going to allow Xavier to pierce her mind.

"He's here," said Xavier suddenly, opening his eyes at last. And that's when the helicopter stopped in mid-air, and a red and purple clad figure appeared before them.

"I thought I clearly stated I needed time to be alone, Charles," said Magneto, his voice magnified by his powers, speaking directly through the metal to the passengers.

"Release us, Erik, and follow us, we need to get to Wundagore as soon as possible," said Charles Xavier, speaking directly to his friend's mind.

"You know very well I cannot do that. The mountain won't allow a machine made by man to reach it. I need to carry you there, and while we travel there you will explain to me why you have forsaken my request for solitude," said Magneto, gently guiding the helicopter behind him as he began to fly towards the mountain in the distance.

He could feel the heat, he could feel every impact on his very bones. But he kept moving forward. He knew he was going to reach the slim teenager eventually. And he knew he must, to protect the girl he loved. And the man known as Wolverine closed his fists, his claws glittering with red light, and slowly he brought them in front of them, and the blast of Scott's Summers crashed with them.

Alex Summers continued to fire his plasma blasts towards the young girl, but she kept dissipating them with her light, doing her best to stop him. "Aww c'mon pretty girl, I promised I won't hurt you… too much," he said, increasing his blasts as much as he could, his eyes shining brightly and the smile in his face increasing.

"Fraülein let us make this simpler," said the blue-skinned demon, appearing on Aurora's back. Moving as fast as he could he hit the back of her head, making her loose her concentration, and Alex's blast hit her on her chest, making her scream and fall from the skies. The german monster clutched her in his hands and teleported away, appearing gently on the ground. "She is one of them! We found the first one!" he said smiling with the prize on his hands.

"Jean-Marie!" screamed Wolverine, his claws still holding off Scott's blast, trying to move forward.

"The evac her! And then return for us!" said Scott Summers, increasing his blast, stopping the Wolverine from moving.

"As you command my liege," said Kurt Wagner, teleporting the unconscious Aurora and Alex in a puff of Smoke. A couple of seconds later he appeared next to Scott and Anna, and took them as well, but as he did, Scott Summers spoke.

"Do not try to find us, you won't be able to. Say goodbye to your girlfriend, she has been chosen," he said, disappearing in Kurt's puff of smoke.

"Jean-Marie!" screamed Wolverine with fury and rage, screaming at the skies.

"I keep saying we need to flee," said Mikhail. "I spent my last teleportation spell escaping from you, but you command Limbo's stepping discs, get us out of here, now," he said, his eyes fixed on Wanda, who seemingly floated distracted in the distance.

"No, we fight!" said Illyana. "He won't expect it!"

"Enough prattling among yourselves! You need to tell me exactly what is going on here, why do you say Wanda's been possessed and by your father of all beings. Explain, now!" said Ororo, fury etched on her face as well as impatience.

"I found out… I found out our parents weren't our parents. I found out we… all three of them, were the sons and daughter of a demon. A demon named Belasco. The demon left us in the Rasputin's care, hoping they will raise us free from evil, but I knew from very early one that we were not human," said Mikhail, almost with pain in his voice.

"And that's when he killed our adoptive parents to bring forward Belasco with their sacrifice, only the very idiot was wrong and his spell destroyed our house and got us stuck in this awful place. And I managed to learn enough dark magick from him to get control of this place and create the Soulsword… but that doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" said Illyana, lifting her eyes slowly.

And that's when the invisible barrier surrounding them shattered in a million pieces, and Wanda's red energy eyes were fixed on them.

"_All my children reunited, and with fresh meat for sacrifice, this is going to be a very happy family reunion," said Belasco, smiling as he lifted his arms and began to conjure a spell._


	17. Chapter 17

**Curses and Origins part V of VI: The Old Guard**

**Twelve Years Ago:  
**  
Rain poured from the skies as lightning and thunder danced freely around it. It was the fifth night of incessant rain and many feared a divine retribution was on its way. The rain never seemed to stop, not for a second, it was as if the skies wept with every raindrop, and the skies were in utmost pain. The clouds above were as red as blood, and the night was even darker than usual. Yet a small carriage, pulled by a lone donkey, kept moving forward through the mud-filled road, its destination not far from reach. And as the carriage got closer to the lone house in the middle of the Siberian plains, thunder broke, and lightning fell near them, but it missed the mark and the carriage kept moving forward.

The man leading the carriage got down from it, and he slowly helped the two children he was carrying, and he took the baby from the eldest child's arms. He covered her face from the rain, hiding her small body inside his robe and moved forward, and knocked heavily on the door, and as he did, thunder broke, increasing the sound of the knock a thousand-fold.

Nikolai Rasputin was the first to wake up. It was the middle of the night, nearly two hours past midnight and he felt a strange knocking in his heart. And as his eyes opened he heard a knocking on his door. His heart raced, he was afraid, who could be out at two in the morning with such terrible weather at his door? The nearest village was more than 10 miles away. He didn't want to wake his wife but each knock on the door seemed to be louder, and Alexandra Rasputin also rose from her bed, with fear in her eyes. The old married couple didn't speak, their eyes were locked on each other, and they both knew what to do.

He reached for the old trusted gun a crazy American had sold him, almost thirty years ago now, from under the bed, while his wife fastened her sleeping robe and turned on the candlestick in her end table, and they both walked slowly towards the staircase. With each step they took the lightning illuminated their way through the curtain-less windows, and each step was accompanied by a loud knock on the door. At last they reached it and Nikolai took the courage to ask "Who is there? I have a gun!", but his wife just slapped his arm and moved forward.

"Silly old man, if he wanted to do us harm they would have entered already, the door is unlocked," she reminded him in a whisper, opening the door as she did. And her eyes opened wide in surprise when behind the door she found two small children and a baby, staring at her, the three of them soaking wet, their eyes almost screaming with despair. Alexandra Rasputin took a quick glance at them, the oldest one could not be bigger than seven, and the baby girl he was carrying was barely a month or two old, yet her eyes seemed to focus on the middle child, who could be no older than four, and was the only one that was shivering with cold. Instinctively she reached out to him and held him in her arms, as she ushered the other two in as she did, while her husband took a step outside, looking to see if there was anyone there.

Lightning illuminated the field before him, but there was no one on sight, and Nikolai Rasputin felt a chill ran down his spine and suddenly, the rain stopped, and the clouds began to dissipate above him, and he felt colder than he ever did in his entire life. Doing a terrible effort not to faint, he returned inside and closed the door to his home, staring as his wife turned on the fire to warm the children. Their eyes locked once more and they both had the same thought, fate had finally gave them the family they always wanted.

And as the old couple shared thoughts, the robed stranger looked over his shoulder towards the house. And he smiled, knowing that he could now face his mortal enemy safely, for his contingency was already in motion, and if he would fail, his children would either avenge him or return him to his proper place, and his smile became more wicked with this thought, and his eyes were as yellow and as bright as the sun in the dark Siberian night.

**Five Years Ago: **

He cut their wrists first, it seemed to be the most logical choice, but it simply wasn't enough, so he kept cutting them. From their innocent blood he created a pentagram, and placed a black candle on each of the star's tips. On his hands rested a copy of the Darkhold, though not the true dark tome itself. It was a copy, a fake, a simile, but he knew this and it was exactly what he needed. He took the little girl's hand, she seemed mesmerized by his soothing tone and firm grip.

"It will be over soon Illyana, it will not hurt you, and you will be a part of something greater," said Mikhail Rasputin leading his small sister to the center of the blood-drawn pentagram. Slowly the black candles turned on, one after the other, and arcane magic filled the old barn. Nikolai and Alexandra whispered and tried to speak, but they were unable to give voice to their despair. They couldn't believe the little child they took in and raised had left them near death, forcing them to watch as he was about to murder his own small sister. Their throats were clogged with blood, their vocal cords no longer functioning, but their eyes spoke volumes, and slowly they reached for each other's hand.

And that's when everything happened at once. The barn door opened, and for a small second they could see young Piotr standing in front of it, his arms opened wide, and that's when Mikhail's knife reached Illyana's heart, and it was exactly then that a bright white light encompassed everything, and the barn seemed to implode into itself. It was a bright explosion of white light in the middle of nowhere, which slowly faded away, and there was only one left standing as it happened.

Piotr Rasputin looked at his hands, they had somehow become metallic, and he realized his entire body was made of metal, and he saw there was no one nor anything else around him, save the shadow of a faded pentagram on the straws in what used to be the barn's floor. And he screamed and looked at the skies and feared he had just killed his family and turned himself into a monster made of metal.

**Now:**

Erik Magnus Lensherr frowned once more, crossing his arms, his eyes were fixed on his best friend's and though he was clearly upset about the news he had just received, it was Charles Xavier who was angrier.

"You should have told me Erik, I should have read your mind," he said with spite, never removing his eyes from his friend. "You should have told me the disturbance you felt was the mountain acting up again," he repeated, as if by repeating the words his friend would then give a satisfactory answer.

"Normally you are a rational man Charles, normally," said Erik, floating slightly in front of Xavier's wheelchair, still uneasy about that recent development, "but every time we discuss about her you loose your senses. That is why I decided not to tell you and act alone if necessary."

"This is not about her, this is about a potential threat to the entire globe, I should have been appraised of the situation, you alone cannot contain the mountain if it explodes again," said Charles, each word sounding louder than the previous one.

Not far from there, sitting on the helicopter's opened door, Agent 15 did not move her eyes from both men's lips, doing her best to read them, to find out what they were shouting at each other. Even though they were far out of hearing range she pretty much understood everything, but before she could even ask, the man who was still sitting in the helicopter's pilot seat spoke in a soft yet clear tone.

"Her is Charles' sister, his twin sister actually, she died here, on the mountain, seven years ago," explained Sean Cassidy, without lifting his eyes from the map he was perusing or removing the long wooden pipe from his mouth.

"How can you tell they are talking about a her?" said Agent 15, lifting her head towards Sean for the first time since the others had left. "You are not reading their lips like I am," she said with inquiring eyes.

"I have good hearing," he added, "with me kind of powers that is a given, Forge used to call it me secondary mutation, but I always believed it's a direct answer from my regular mutation."

"Spare me the lecture on mutant weirdness," said Agent 15, looking back towards Xavier and Lensherr again. "All you mutants have freakish powers," she added, doing her best to hide a smile. After a brief silence, and realizing Xavier and Lensherr were speaking telepathically since they had stopped moving their lips and Lensherr had removed his helmet, she spoke again, trying to sound innocent and interested. "So… his sister… how did she die?"

"Are you sure you want to know? The story is full of mutant weirdness," said Sean Cassidy, smiling broadly as he smoked his pipe.

"See chere, you really need to wake up now, we need power like yours," said Remy Lebeau in a whisper, caressing Jean Grey's long red mane gently, trying to awake her. His eyes were fixed on the battle near, he could see Ororo attempting to fight Wanda, but the red-clad young mutant laughed with a borrowed, dark voice, avoiding each lightning blast and gust of wind with terrible ease.

"That is the girl that robbed my heart," he said, his whisper even slower than before, "the first time someone ever stole anything from this old thief," he added, his eyes looking straight at Ororo, who was floating and shouting towards her enemy, without stopping even for an instant. "You really need to wake up Jean, I have this Cajun feeling in my gut that it's going to take everyone's power to get out of this one alive," he finished, trying to see what was going on in the battlefield.

Jean-Paul Beaubier took the Soulsword from the floor and began to rise. "It's all about magic, isn't it? The sword disrupts magic, I just need to stab Wanda and she will be back to normal, won't she?" he asked, even though he didn't want an answer.

Piotr and Kitty looked at each other, uncertain of what to answer, but before they could even open their mouths to speak, Jean-Paul had already begun to fly, moving at his top speed towards Wanda.

"Ah, here comes a more believable threat," smiled Wanda in the wicked voice of Belasco. "Learn now child," she said while watching Ororo, "you only handle magic… with magic," said the demon, and when the Soulsword was an inch away from the heart of his borrowed body it stopped.

Jean-Paul could not believe his eyes. He moved the Soulsword backwards and tried to strike once more, attempting to hit the demon in front of him, but he was unable to do so, and Wanda kept laughing in that horrible voice.

"Fool. My daughter made the Soulsword, it was made with N'Garai magic, the magic I normally wield, but here… you see? This girl?" he said, lifting the talisman that hanged from her neck. "She is pure Chtonic magic, pure chaos, something as simple as a sword made with a soul cannot pierce her. See the pure genius of my plan? I am now as strong as my mortal enemy is, I am even stronger than he could ever be, I cannot be defeated!" he proclaimed, lifting Wanda's arms high, and as he did lightning bolts of pure red energy flowed from him, destroying the battlefield below. In the same heartbeat Jean-Paul was thrust towards the floor, dropping the SoulSword as he did, falling near Colossus and Kitty once more.

"Lightning is mine to command!" shouted Ororo, focusing her mind on the lightning bolts. She was able to alter their direction, but just barely, she couldn't control those lightning bolts like the ones she could create, and before she could even attempt to retaliate she felt Illyana's cold hand wrap itself around her arm.

" It's time for plan B, we need to go your highness," said Illyana with clear sarcasm in her voice as she took Ororo and disappeared through a light disc, taking the white-haired young woman with her, as her brother cursed them both for leaving him behind.

"Ah… my eldest son, without you this could not have been possible, let me give you your just reward," Belasco said, lifting one of his fingers towards Mikhail as pain began to fill the mutant's body, making him twitch on the floor as if he was being electrocuted.

"This is totally ridiculous," said Amelia Voght, crossing her arms. Across the street from their position there stood an old shop, that seemed to have been abandoned at least five decades ago. It was strange to see such a battered old place still standing, specially since it was embedded deep in a commercial zone, where businesses thrived left and right next to it. "Are you trying to tell me her trail ends there? In that abandoned shop?"

"I am sorry Professor, that is what I am seeing, the magic in the air, the trail she leaves… it fades to nothing inside," said the young girl known as Scanner, lowering her head and rocking her body slightly forward and backwards, like a child that had just been reprimanded.

"I get the same reading," Forge added reassuringly, moving the small blackberry-like device he held in his hands. "It ends there, she and at least one other mutant went inside, and never came out."

"Then it's obvious isn't it? We go inside and see what's going on," said Lorna Lensherr, moving forward, but before the young mutant could even leave the relative safety of the dark alley where they stood, a hand grabbed her arm.

"No. It is too early, it is too bright, how do you think a group like us will be able to enter the only abandoned site without being noticed?" said Amelia, her eyes connected deeply to Lorna. "Stay here, do what Forge says, I will be back in a minute," she added, slowly turning herself into mist.

"Take me with you! It's my sister that's missing!" said Lorna, half-hiding a smile. But Professor Voght did not reply nor made any recognition to her plea. Before she could even open her mouth again to speak she felt a sudden chill ran down her spine, and slowly she turned, to see Destiny's blind eyes as the old woman lifted her hood.

"We must return to the school, there is no nothing we can do now here, the board is set, let us hope the resolution is satisfactory for our realm," she said cryptically, and began to walk towards the darkest part of the alley, slowly moving forward.

"Professor?" asked Scanner, looking at Forge with inquiring eyes. The young child didn't know what to do for certain, Professor Voght had asked them to stay. Her ability to scan all the different energy types allowed her to see as the red-headed teacher had already vanished inside the abandoned shop like a sudden mist, but she had also heard about Professor Adler's determination and certainty.

Forge sighed, turning off his device and placing it inside his backpack. "We go back, Amelia's signal is gone, we cannot follow, we must go back and speak with Xavier, he needs to know his children are missing." And even as he spoke those words he regretted them, he knew Amelia didn't want to tell anything to Charles, but he knew there was no other choice. He rushed both girls to follow Destiny, and slowly they moved towards the hidden blackbird airplane, which hovered in silence above the alley.

She couldn't believe her eyes. She had seen it very clearly from across the street, she had seen it very clearly when she peered through the window in her mist form. The shop was abandoned. Only it wasn't. As soon as her feet became solid and she was able to regain her full body she realized the shop was not an old condemned place. It was a library of some sort, filled to the brim with books, so many in fact that they not only covered the bookshelves but also the floor, the tables, and even some decorative sofas and chairs. And among the books she found an old woman, clutching a triangle-shaped medallion near her heart.

"You are one of them, aren't you? One of the three? The weakest point I'll say, but one of them nonetheless," said Agatha Harkness, her eyes scrutinizing Amelia Voght with each glance, and as she spoke only her lips moved, the rest of her old frail body seemed to be petrified.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," said Amelia, who didn't actually know if she had to be offended or surprised by the old woman's claims. She moved a few steps towards the woman she had never seen before, but before she could come close, the old woman lifted the triangle medallion and lifted her hand towards her.

"Yes you are! I see it clearly! And so must you! I command you to remember!" she said, while her old gray eyes turned to ebony and the shop itself seemed to tremble.

And Amelia grabbed her hand and felt pain shoot through her body, and she struggled to remain physical and while she fell to the floor her memory stirred, and she began to remember.

**Seven and a half Years Ago**

"I still am not comfortable with separating us like this, it is not wise, they might need us," said a very young Amelia Voght, tightening the leather jacket she wore as they continued to walk forward.

"It is logical to do so, there are two main villains here, there are two threats, we need to contain them both before it all explodes in our faces," said Cassandra Xavier, reassuring her best friend and her sister-in-law. "Besides it's more fun like this, we get at least a little time to ourselves without creepy grandma Destiny watching over us," she added, grabbing her beloved's arm and smiling.

"Ehem, shall we please continue our march? It is a very long mountain to climb," said Charles Xavier, moving closer and cutting through them, clearly annoyed by the situation and making a firm statement about it.

"You don't have to be so rude, Charly, you could have just told me you don't like seeing us get cozy," replied Cassandra telepathically, though she broadcasted her thought to those present as she grabbed her beloved's arm again, but this time it was he who moved forward, avoiding her.

"Charles is right, this is not a happy going out, we have the fate of the entire mutant race in our hands. Now is not the time for levity, Cass," said Erik Magnus Lensherr, looking at the woman he loved through the rabbit of his eye. With his thoughts he tried to reach to her, to tell her that she was everything to him, but he simply wasn't sure if by just thinking it she would know it, or if Charles would know it as well. It wasn't easy to be in love with a the world's greatest telepath acting like a jealous big brother.

Amelia sighed, she wished she could be as open and demonstrative as Cassandra was, but with Charles that idea had died years ago, not long after they met in India so many years ago. She had run from America, from her family, she had run as far as she could, only to be found by the love of her life. She always wondered if it had been pure serendipity which led Charles to India that time, or if it was something else, but she had long forgotten such queries, the love she felt for the man was too great to allow doubts in it. She followed Charles through the dark mountain, walking ever forward and wondering about the second team and their no less dangerous mission.

**Now**

"I was leading the second team," he said proudly, taking a sip from his pipe. "There were just five of us. Me, the new girl Tessa… well, new then, all those years ago… she goes by Sage now, she has forsaken her name, don't ask her why, trust me, then me mate Forge, old Professor Adler, I always knew her by that name, and pretty Eileen. Pity the woman never even gave me the time of the day," said Sean Cassidy, longingly looking towards the base of the mountain. "While Charles and Erik's team moved upward towards the mountain top, our team was infiltrating the mountain itself. See right there? Where all those huge rocks are piled? There used to be a temple, a temple that was older than the mountain itself perhaps, and it led to the heart of it, the heart of the mountain."

Seven and a half years ago

Amelia Voght could not believe her eyes. At the top of the mountain, two giant figures battled, a one-armed demon-lord with yellow eyes and long red cape, and the other being was simply indescribable. The fire and brimstone being battling the demon lord had no exact shape, and though she could glimpse an outline, it wasn't a firm shape what her eyes were seeing. In a way, it reminded her of herself in mist form. Her mind seemed to come out of a trance when she heard Cassandra Xavier's voice.

"This is even worse than I thought," she said, looking in the red book she held in her hands. After perusing the pages, lifting her eyes barely to look at the battling giants in the mountaintop, she sighed with almost a trifle of despair. "Belasco, I should have known," she added, staring at image in her book. "An ages old N'Garai Demon-Lord, bent on ruling Earth and adding it to his domain, the barren Limbo."

"And this means…" said Charles, almost rolling his eyes, he disregard Cassandra's interest in magic and demons because he couldn't really believe in them. Even in the face of two gigantic demon-shaped beings fighting each other he still couldn't believe the only explanation was simply 'magic'.

"This means that if Belasco wins he will gain a foothold on this realm, he will be able to cross over and well, literally bring hell to Earth," said Cassandra, ignoring Charles' disbelief, by now she was used to it.

"And what is the other thing?" asked Amelia, her eyes entranced by the second's being unfathomable shape.

"Chthon. But we don't have to worry about him, he is the father of all chaos magic, he is a necessary force, trapped in the mountain forever by the oldest Sorceress Supreme ever, millennia ago. He can't escape his predicament, so we don't have to worry about him. Also the magic I wield comes from him so eliminating him means no magic to stop Belasco," said Cassandra. "We have to force Belasco back to his realm, we have to boost Chthon so he can win."

"Wait a second, you're telling me we need to boost a force of chaos in order to stop a demon that will turn Earth into hell?" said Charles skeptically, placing his arms in his waist.

"What part of it didn't you understand?" asked Erik Magnus Lensherr, moving towards Cassandra, placing his arms on her shoulders. "What do we do?"

Cassandra smiled at Erik's words, his touch felt so comforting so protective, she enjoyed every second of the contact and she tried hard not to think about what she was about to do, but she knew it was the only choice. She did not tell them her plan though, at least not entirely. "Gather the metal from the mountain soil, there is not much but what is there will be enough. Form a triangle in the ground with it, and follow my lead," she said, trying to sound strong, at the same time she closed her mind to Charles, preventing him from accessing her thoughts for the first time in their life.

"Banshee, do you read me?" Amelia could hear Cassandra saying, as she opened her comm.-link to the other team inside the mountain.

**Now**

"I couldn't believe me eyes. We were in the heart of the mountain. Literally. There was a big rock in the middle of it that looked like a heart. And it was pumping. Fast," explained Sean Cassidy, his eyes livid, remembering every step of the story like it had happened yesterday and not so long ago. "Cassie spoke through the comm.-link but her voice was somewhat different, much more determined. It reminded me so much of Charles' voice." He kept telling the story, it was as if he was entranced, explaining the story to the unbelieving human in front of him, who listened intently to every word.

"She told me we needed to jumpstart the heart, give it a big powerful jolt of energy. And that's when the communication dropped. We didn't know how to do what she asked, or why we needed to do it, until Professor Adler spoke. She was crying, which is very difficult for her since she has no eyes mind you. And she said, I cannae believe I still remember her words," the red-haired Irishman said. "The future is set in stone. It is all defined now. Our fight is ending and beginning," she said. "It's the kind of words that stick to you with the years," he added.

"Then she told us Forge needed to build and amplifier, and me and Eileen had to use our powers on the machine, and aim towards the heart of stone, that Tessa would know where to shoot exactly. And when we did the mountain shook. Very hard, and very violently, it was as if it was exploding" he finished.

Seven and a half years ago

Amelia had followed Cassandra's direction, she had stood at one of the triangle's tips. She could see Erik and Charles on the other tips, but she didn't know why it was necessary. Cassandra stood in the middle of the metal-drawn triangle, reading from her book and glowing with red energy. And she felt a sharp pain in her chest, and she tried to reach for it, but she couldn't move. And she saw neither Charles nor Erik could either, but Cassandra kept reciting her words, and she could see a tear falling from his best friend's eye.

"I will always love you guys," she said as a burst of red energy burst from her book, touching each of her beloved companions hearts, to return to hers. And as the energy touched their hearts they could feel Cassandra's love, but they also felt as if their own energies were drained. And the mountain shook, and Cassandra glowed brighter than ever and Amelia watched as the demon-lord known as Belasco screamed in anger and slowly faded, while the other figure became clearer for a second, and slowly returned to the mountain.

And it was then, when the mountain stopped shaking, when the eldritch energies finally evaporated before them that Cassandra's body felt to the ground, her eyes opened and white, and she didn't move, and she didn't breathe.

"No…," was all Amelia could muster, as the metal triangle on her feet disappeared, and she saw both Erik and Charles lunge forward, and somehow she knew Cassandra was dead. And she could hear Charles' anguished cry on her mind, and she knew nothing was ever going to be the same for him, and she was surprised to see Erik lifting his beloved's head and kissing her forehead, closing her eyes. And she couldn't restrain her tears, and she tried to comfort Charles, but she knew there was nothing she could say to make him feel better, so she didn't say anything at all.

And they remained in silence for several moments, until the others joined them and Destiny said the Chaos was now free on Earth, and that a new Sorcerer Supreme would be chosen. But Amelia didn't care about those words, about the proclamation, she knew she had lost more than her best friend right then and there, even if she didn't know exactly what.

**Now**

Amelia's eyes opened wide. She had been forced to remember that fateful day, the moment where she lost her best friend and for the first time since she realized it was then that the separation from her husband began, it was since that day that he began neglecting their relationship, very slowly at first, but to the point of almost ignoring each other recently. She resented the old woman that had forced her to see the truth. And when she realized where she was she knew she wasn't in the old bookshop anymore, but they were standing in the grave of Cassandra Xavier, in the old family cemetery in the Xavier manor. But she didn't ask how they got there, and before she could even speak the old woman looked into her eyes.

"Thank you, I needed to know exactly how it happened before, so we can do it again, so we can stop Belasco from once more trying to access this plane," said Agatha Harkness, holding the triangle talisman in her hands, standing next to the grave.

"I don't give a damn about that demon, we do not deal with magic, there are sorcerers who do that. I want the children, Wanda, where is she?" she asked, slowly rising from the ground.

"Wanda holds Chthon's power. She is the Nexus of Chaos in this reality, at least for now. When Cassandra died she became it, she was embedded with the power of the elder god. And it was Cassandra's last act that made young Wanda seek her father weeks after her own death, through the Chaos Magick that connected them. Wanda's life might already be lost. Belasco must be contained, no matter the cost," explained the old woman.

"Where are the others? Are they with Wanda?" Amelia asked, unsure what to do other than gain as much information as possible.

"Yes. Trapped in Limbo, trapped in hell. Their lives might also be lost. What we need to do right now is return to the mountain, and help the others, the other pieces of the three," said Agatha ominously.

"What three?" asked Amelia, knowing the answer before-hand.

"You, Xavier, Magneto. The three soul stones carved in this talisman. Each gave a piece of their souls to stop Belasco, and each will be required to forfeit even more to stop him again," she said.

"And how do you plan to get us to the mountain halfway around the world before it's too late?" Amelia asked. But Agatha didn't respond instantly, she merely lifted her eyes towards the Xavier manor, atop a hill, and when Amelia had turned to see her home, Agatha's voice spoke again.

"We will not go personally, we simply can't, but our minds are able to leave our bodies, there is one that is able to get us where we need," she said, and slowly she began to walk towards the house, passing next to her.

Amelia stared at Cassandra's grave for several seconds, she could swear she saw a faint glimpse of red light coming from it, and just as she was turning around, as her eyes were still fixed on the gravestone, Cassandra's hand appeared from the soil, and Amelia could do nothing but stare as her dead friend rose from the grave, her eyes still as blank and empty as they were on the day she died, and he saw her walk past by her, following Agatha Harkness towards the house.


	18. Chapter 18

**Curses and Origins part VI of VI: Explosion**

"This is simply outrageous, I will not allow such an intrusion in my own complex," said Moira McTaggert as she walked through the nearly empty halls of her medical research facility. Her white lab coat billowed behind her as she walked with utmost speed, reaching the private elevator at the end of the hall. Though she seemed to be talking to herself she was far from doing so.

"Elisabeth scan the island again, she has to be somewhere," said Dr. McTaggert frowning slightly. As she did she saw her small red-haired daughter running towards her, but she didn't stop the elevator. And as the doors closed, she looked straight at her. "Rahne, accushla, mommy has to work now, go play with Dr Campbell or one of the nurses", she merely said out loud in a soothing tone. The doors closed and the private elevator began its descent.

"I've just scanned the island three times, there is no trace of this 'ghost girl' I felt earlier, I know my psychic blow hurt her, but she knows how to hide very well," said Elisabeth Braddock's voice directly in Dr MacTaggert's mind, as the doctor impatiently paced in circles in the closed elevator.

"That is because you have still much to learn about your abilities. I've checked Grey's room, her body is gone, and she is able to maintain her astral form in the corporeal world, I saw it with me own eyes," answered Moira, this time without opening her mouth. "Sigh this is very serious, if Charles finds out about all of you and that I've been hiding you from him…"

"I can erase minds, that is a skill I have mastered, as you are well aware of," replied Elisabeth with a certain tone of anger in her telepathic voice.

"It's difficult to erase a mind that can't be found," snarked Moira as the elevator finally reached the lowest floor of her facility. As the doors opened she saw Elisabeth Braddock's form standing before them, her long purple hair swishing slightly, and behind her she could see the rest of her so-called students. "We will do this the old-fashioned way. We will search the island ourselves. Andrea, Andreas, go to the infirmary, where Xavier's students are stationed, no one gets in, no one gets out. Evangeline, turn into a dragon again and fly around the island, try to see everything from above."

"Is that wise? A giant red dragon floating around the island?" asked young Evangeline Whedon, hugging herself, uncertain to follow the orders.

"This is Scotland, land of dragons and faeries, you'll remind people of better days if you are seen. In any case do try to hide in the clouds. Amara, Roberto, you will get the top two floors. Colin," she said last, looking at the small freckled child before her. "I need you to get to the helipad and look with those amazing green eyes of yours and see if the helicopter comes back, let us all know if it does."

The little red-haired boy nodded as Moira rubbed his head and smiled. Without allowing the last child to open her mouth she spoke. "Elisabeth, you will go to your room, concentrate yourself and contact Dr. Frost, she has to be appraised of the situation."

"Frost? She is halfway around the world!" said Elisabeth surprised and rather upset. She had never been able to cast her thoughts over such great a distance.

"Consider this training, to hone your abilities," said Moira, lifting her eyes to meet the teenager's, her tone final and decisive. "Move my Hellions, I want this little upstart found and contained before she lets everyone know about you," and as she spoke the children moved as one, following her commands. While she crossed her arms, watching and silence and pondering what would be her next move.

Through the corridors she walked, hearing the excitement in their voices and the incessant chattering. She sighed, it was obvious something was happening. She walked with her head held high, hearing all of them whispering, looking above their heads. And as she passed by some of them cowered and ran to their dormitories, afraid of her frowned stance.

Amidst the gathered youngsters she found her prey and she screamed his name, calling his attention as she moved her hand towards him. "Robert Drake explain to me what is going on here right now," said Sage, her red sunglasses shining in the brightly lit corridor.

Young Bobby Drake was spooked by the sudden scream of the boy next to him, but it was the ominous voice of his professor that actually made him jump from his vantage point in the corridor leading to the Cerebro Room. It took him a few precious seconds to gather the strength to speak. "Professor! You scared me!"

Professor Sage did not reply, she crossed her arms and stared at the youngsters, while several of his companions began running away, leaving the door where they were huddled before.

"It's… Professor Voght… she… entered Cerebro, with an old lady and a zombie… a zombie! They walked all the way through the school… it was… so cool," said Bobby, repressing a smile and the enthusiasm he felt.

"A… zombie? Where is Professor Adler? Where is anyone with common sense to explain to me what is going on here?" she inquired raising an eyebrow, doubting the words of the youngster.

"It... it's true, I saw the zombie myself. I don't who that is but it looked a lot like Professor Xavier, but it kinda looked like a woman also," said Cecilia Reyes. And as she did she felt, for the first time in a long time, like a child explaining herself to an angry parent under Sage's unmovable stare.

"That is simply not possible," said Sage, moving towards Cerebro, attempting to enter the room. As she did, bright white energy surged from the door, and it slowly coalesced into the full form of Professor Harsaw, extending her right palm towards her fellow teacher.

"It's true, don't go in there, they need to contact Charles and Magnus, Tessa, they are trying to save the world. Again," she said with determination in her voice. "We need to wait until they are ready to come out," she added as she lowered her arm.

For a second it seemed as if Sage was going to incinerate her old friend with her eyes, but after a few seconds of tense silence she decided to speak. "Fine. Where is Scanner?" she demanded.

"She left earlier, with Professor Forge and Professor Adler and well… Professor Voght, the others haven't arrived yet," explained Johanna Cargill, Sage's favorite student and leader of her small squad of students. But even she hesitated to speak, knowing first-hand what it was like when Sage had this kind of mood.

Sage's eyes squinted with hatred in such a way that everyone present cowered for a few seconds and then looked at Eileen Harsaw once more. "I will wait in the Danger Room, with my kids, alert me when this is over I have to speak with Voght about what she is allowed to do when Xavier is not in the school, or does she forget I am deputy headmistress?"

Without adding anything further she turned around, and slowly the children from her squad began to follow her, lowering their heads and trying not to look at their classmates, knowing the session would be hard as their teacher was once more clearly upset.

"Release me at once!" shouted the ominous, commanding voice of Ororo. Every syllable followed by a roar of thunder; her eyes glittering in the darkness of the poorly lit chamber.

"Shut up or he will find us faster than he would otherwise," answered Illyana Rasputin, waving her finger at the youngster she had shanghaied from the field of battle as she perused between old books and potion bottles in the deep secret chamber of her own fortress.

Ororo wasn't truly a prisoner, she was merely unable to escape the door-less, windowless dungeon where they had both arrived minutes ago to, like Illyana so strategically put it, 'work on plan B'. Her mind was with her friends who were at the mercy of the insane villain, and as hard as she tried she could not stop thinking about poor Wanda and what she was going through. And it was right then and there that she realized she actually cared for the rest of her team, and they truly felt they were her friends. She didn't know exactly why it hit her so hard at that moment but she knew she had to do whatever was possible to save the lives of the mortal children that she had grown so fond of.

"Where did I put it?" asked Illyana, throwing books right and left, trying to find a way to defeat her own father, the demon lord that attempted to control the realm she had taken by strength of power and will. Her mind kept returning to an old tome, the tome she had never fully read nor understood, for it was written in a language long forgotten.

"What are you doing? I said Release ME," said Ororo, and as she spoke a not so subtle breeze erupted from behind her, hitting the young sorceress and making her fall under a pile of books and vials, and her red eyes turner darker than freshly spilled blood, and then the chamber began to shake.

For a second both youngsters remained in silence, both aware that it wasn't them shaking the room, until Illyana quickly leapt to her feet and kept searching. "See? I told you he would fid us, now help me look! I need that book!" she shouted commandingly.

Ororo did not appreciate being commanded so, she merely crossed her arms and looked at the sorceress with anger. "I have no idea what you are talking about, if you do not tell me what you need it will not be simple for me to find it," she snarked trying to hide a smile.

Illyana turned fast and with anger, but as she opened her mouth to speak she realized what she needed to do. "Of course, how I could have been so blind? YOU need to search for it, that is why I cannot find it, that is why my location spells do not work at all; he hid it from me specially. You need to do the spell," she added, raising her finger cryptically towards Ororo.

"Controlling the elements is my birthright, I am a goddess, I do not do simple magic like you mortals," said Ororo closing her eyes. "Why didn't you leave me on the field of battle?"

"I know now why. I sense old magic around you, that is why I brought you here," said Illyana, moving her hands quickly, creating symbols in the air as the chamber kept shaking. "I knew something was amiss when I reached for your arm, I couldn't quite place it, but now... I see it very clearly," she added, as the symbols she had drawn became alive, like glowing spiders of crimson red in the air. "See? You have magic in your veins," smiled Illyana. "And your magic has nothing to do with my father's, or his enemy, so it might very well be our only chance, but to do that, we need to escape again," she added as she reached to grab Ororo's arm once more, her eyes fixed on the cracked wall behind the young mutant, knowing her father was about to break in.

And as suddenly as they had arrived in the closed secret chamber the two young women disappeared into a disc of pure white light, as the room imploded upon itself, destroying everything within.

"And what is it they are going to do?" asked Agent 15, trying her best puppy face while looking up to Sean Cassidy.

He finished his pipe, leaving it above the controls on the chopper and he smiled. "I have no bloody idea, I just hope I get to scream a little." He was itching to use his powers in battle ever since he got them back.

Agent Valerie Cooper frowned. She didn't like to not know what was happening. Her job was to know everything she could about Xavier and Magneto, and everyone involved with them.

"What is the plan then?" asked Xavier, moving his wheelchair around, trying not to look at his best friend.

But before Magneto could reply there was a voice in the air, a voice that seemed older than time itself and that pierced their souls more than their ears. "The plan is the same as it was seven years ago," said Cassandra Xavier, her old, frail, decomposed head said, appearing in front of them. "We really need to boost daddy Chthon's power once more, or this time we'll be truly lost."

Charles Xavier could not believe his eyes. He grabbed the handlebars of his wheelchair, trying to stand up; almost forgetting he was unable to do so. The image of his dead sister's head had appeared before him. And he was not able to utter a single word.

It was the deep voice of Erik Magnus Lensherr that cut the silence of the mountaintop, but even he was only able to utter his once-beloved's name. "Cass…" he merely said, his eyes remembering everything they shared together.

Banshee screamed. He had seen the image of Cassandra's dead head, floating in the air between Erik and Charles. And as he screamed he began to fly, leaving the cockpit and moving towards them. And Agent 15 frowned and followed him, running behind him at her topmost speed.

"Such a disappointment," said Belasco touching his son's cheek and moving his face slightly. Mikhail was suspended in mid-air, his eyes closed and blotchy. He was clearly unconscious. "You should have been able to withstand much more pain son. I am only getting warmed up."

"Let him go!" shouted Kitty Pryde, who was suspended from her wrists in mid-air as well. Next to her were Colossus and Northstar, also unconscious.

"Why are you so eager to get your punishment little Kitty? I will torture you as much as I did my firstborn, have no doubt about it." Belasco said in the body of Wanda Lensherr, turning slightly to see the child in front of him.

"You are evil, it doesn't matter what you do to me, just… just don't hurt anyone else," she said, futilely trying to hide a tear.

"There's no fun in torturing such noble a soul," said Belasco, but as he did he smiled and moved towards Kitty, lifting his hand. "However… a noble soul is much more valuable to harvest. Your soul will make a great addition to the Bloodstones. And with it I will be able to access your realm, your world. Scream now little Kitten, let me take your soul and use it to access your world," he said, lifting his arm and reciting old spells, trying to separate her soul from her body.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" shouted Jean Grey, her eyes flashing with fire and her body contorting with pain.

"Chere!" was all Remy Lebeau was able to say as the girl in his arms moved uncontrollably. For several seconds she screamed and then she became silent. Remy was barely able to utter her name when he felt a massive telekinetic burst exploding from the girl, which pinned him to the ground where all he could do was stare at Jean Grey flying at topmost speed towards the blood-stained skies.

After several minutes, which felt like an eternity or two, he was able to move again. His eyes tried to follow her but she was already gone before he could even open his lips once more. "That's the spirit girl," he smiled in full confidence she was going to save her friends. He dusted off his uniform, looked at the impenetrable citadel that had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the barren hell and began to walk.

"The Darkhold is what enabled Belasco to create us. Piotr, Mikhail and I… we're not human, but we're not demons either. We're something… in-between. He created us so we can bring him back; he always knew he could not defeat Chthon, so he created a fail-safe. And that is us. His children," explained Illyana, waving her hands and casting spells of protection around them.

"Human, demon or in-between, you are still mortal and I am a Goddess. I tire of your prattle. How can I save my friends?" said Ororo, once more crossing her arms.

"And I tire of your pretense. You are no goddess, I clearly see your human aura just like the other humans. You are nothing more than a mutant so stop the pretense already," added Illyana without turning around. "There's also a big aura of fear around you, what do you fear oh mighty Goddess?" asked Illyana with a wicked smile over her shoulder.

"How dare you…" but for the first time in a long time, Ororo was not able to speak. After a few seconds she spoke, but her voice seemed calmer and honest. "There was… a boy. His name was T'Challa. He… he kissed me. A lightning bolt fell from the sky and killed him. I did it. My power erupted with that kiss and killed that boy. I was… confused, scared. I flew away, trying to escape from myself. And as I did it began to rain, and there was thunder, and lightning all around. And the wind spoke to me. Said I was a superior. Immortal. A Goddess. And suddenly everything made sense, and I waved my hands and the storm stopped. And… I am a Goddess. I control the weather. Do not attempt to belittle me with your sorcerous ways."

Illyana smiled. "Have it your way then, but I need you to stop Belasco and regain control over my land, so enough of that attitude and do as I say."

For a couple of seconds Ororo did not reply, but eventually she said almost in a whisper. "Fine. What do you need me to do?"

Illyana took a small knife from her belt and brandished it slowly, smiling broadly. "I need a few drops of your blood, and you have got to give them willingly."

"You need to do it again Erik, Amelia darling has to be up there in the mountain with you two," said Cassandra Xavier's voice in the cold silence of Wundagore Mountain.

"It's not an easy feat and it will leave me depleted," said Magneto, his voice was almost on the brink of stuttering.

"You know full well that to stop Belasco we do not need your mutant powers, so do it already, open the wormhole, or the kids will be lost forever," said Cassandra rolling her eyes.

Magneto concentrated, placing his hands together and slowly separating them. His eyes sparkled with energy as a white sphere appeared between his hands. Wind began to blow out of nowhere around them, and slowly a wormhole appeared before them, and seconds later three forms crossed the anomaly. Agatha Harkness led the way, a red book was open in her hands. She was soon followed first by Amelia Voght and then by the zombie Cassandra Xavier. As soon as they crossed the wormhole closed behind them, and Magneto fell on his knees, sweating from his brow and exhausted.

"You are the responsible for this… abomination," said Xavier, directing his eyes towards Agatha; unable and unwilling to look at his deceased sister.

"I called back she who can help us with the crisis, there is no time for arguing," said Agatha Harkness.

"She is right, she called me back, Amelia was kind enough to hook me to Cerebro, I have most of my mind back now I can tell you all what to do," said Cassandra, smiling pleasantly. "Just like old times, right?"

Amelia Voght kept separated from the rest, hugging herself. She didn't want to be in the presence of her husband, she couldn't bear standing so close to him. She felt guilty, she felt angry. She wanted everything to be over and return to the comfort of the school. She kept her mind closed, she had been taught by Cassandra how to do it, and she did her best to not listen.

"Is this normal?" whispered Agent 15 in Sean Cassidy's ear, her eyes fixed on the talking zombie.

"I wouldn't say normal, but it's not weird," replied Cassidy, sounding his knuckles.

"When the three of you stopped Belasco the last time a Talisman was created, and in the Talisman were the three pieces of soul you… donated to do so. It was given to me, for I was, until recently the foremost caster of Chaos Magicks; the magick that comes from Chthon himself. And this Talisman will help us cast the new spell," said Agatha, removing the triangular talisman from between the pages of the battered red book inher hands and showing it. The three small stones on its tips were glowing and eerie energy emanated from them.

"What do you mean until recently?" asked Agent 15 inquiringly, which made most of the assembled realize she was there.

"Young Wanda. When her mutant powers manifested… she became… a source of Chaos Magick, a focal point for it. It was not chance that made me set a shop in Salem, I have been, nurturing her power, teaching her how to control the magick," revealed the old sorceress.

"Behind… behind my back?" asked Magneto, slowly standing up.

"If you had known you would have stopped her. Don't try to deny it, Erik, I know you too well. As the previous 'Sorceress Chaotic Supreme', I was able to keep in touch with Agatha, and I guided her to Wanda; just like I received guidance years ago by Chthon's previous agent. We all are connected. Chaos Magick runs deeper than any other branch of magic. But that is unimportant now. Wanda is the future caretaker of Chaos Magick, and if we don't act quickly she will be lost forever," said Cassandra's zombie, as the flesh slowly began to recompose in her face. "We need to re-enact the ritual, but this time, we need to put your souls back into each of you."

And as she spoke her words the rest looked up to her, confused and surprised.

Illyana smiled with glee as the Darkhold appeared between her hands. A glimpse of malevolence in her red eyes appeared as she greedily twisted her hands around it. It was difficult for her to even open it in the presence of anyone else, it was as if she didn't want anyone else to read the ancient words written in ash.

"It doesn't heal," said Storm, holding her hand as she slowly bled from her open wound. She dressed it with a piece of cloth that Illyana had handed her, but she could feel it was still open, still bleeding.

"It won't heal right away. The blade I gave you was cursed. Otherwise we could not bring the book to us," explained Illyana, slowly turning around. "Come. It is time. We have to destroy my father."

"And save my friends," said Storm, closing her hand while making an effort not to think about the wound. "Do you have any ideas how to find them?"

But before Illyana could answer the both of them fell to the ground, pushed by a force that was too strong to stop. And soon, before them, appeared Jean Grey, smiling while her hair flowed behind her.

"Sorry for that. It isn't easy to control my telekinesis while flying," she said as the red sky glowed behind her. "I am back. Well not back. Here I mean, with everybody else. In my body. See? No longer a ghost," she explained with a smile.

"Jean? You… you are safe?" said Ororo, slowly getting up, feeling Jean's telekinetic grip lessen. "How did you find… never mind. We are going to need all the help we can get," she added, smiling.

"Scream for me little cat," said Belasco, smiling as his red eyes glittered with darkness. His outstretched hand channeled the magic towards Kitty's soul, making her twitch in her bonds, slowly ripping her soul apart. He needed one more soul, one more stone to set foot on Earth and destroy it. To conquer the realm for which both he and his enemy always fought.

Kitty Pryde twisted and screamed. She had never known such pain. As the evil sorcerer attacked her relentlessly Kitty regressed from her human form to her cat-like form. She writhed in pain, unable to leave, unable to escape, fighting for her soul with every ounce of her will.

Slowly Colossus regained consciousness. He felt groggy, tired, confused, and a million more things at the same time. What was happening? Why couldn't he move? He attempted to change his body to organic steel, but he was unable to do so. Slowly he opened his eyes, the screams of his youngest teammate flooding his senses. The painful screams stirred something within him, enraging him, making his trip to consciousness faster. "Monster! Release her!" he shouted in anger.

The sound of his son's voice made Belasco stop. Slowly he pulled the red-clad hand backward, smiling. "Piotr, my youngest… my biggest… disappointment," he said, looking sideways towards the young mutant at last. "I wish I could play with you like I did with Mikhail, but I have more important matters to attend to," he added, returning his gaze to Kitty and continuing the spells.

Kitty felt her sould being ripped once more and she screamed again, writhing in her chains. Piotr felt the anger rise in him again. He wanted to shout, he wanted to lash out, but he felt the cold iron grips on his hands. And Kitty kept screaming. And Piotr began screaming as well, angered at his impotence, angered at his friend's pain. And suddenly his body turned to organic metal once more. He was unaware it had happened at first. He didn't even know. He just felt rage, and then he saw his metallic fist smashing towards Wanda's back, at full speed.

"Last time, Chthon needed our help to defeat Belasco. You three donated a piece of your souls to trap the demon-lord back in his hellish dimension, thus giving Chthon a chance to win; and balance was thus restored. Now he slumbers while Belasco sips his power for himself while using Wanda's body. He subverted the young practitioner and entered her mind, controlling her, becoming her. All he needs to 'win' is to harvest a noble soul, the last soul on his talisman to enter our realm. And since he kidnapped the rest of your children little brother… I doubt we'll have a lot of time," said Cassandra, as she drew a circle in the floor.

"A young girl named Katherine was with her, she had… an encounter with a sarcee sorcerer. We believe Wanda teleported the others for help. She lashed out as a last attempt for help. To those closest to her," Agatha explained; she gently put the talisman in the center of the circle.

"By returning your souls to you, we lessen Belasco's control over Wanda, allowing the sweet child to regain control of her body. Or at least fight for it; while we awaken Chthon at the same time. And then there might be a small chance the children will be able to defeat this ugly demon-lord and return to Earth safe and sound. And I will be able to return to my cozy little sarcophagus," finished Cassandra, standing up. "Now get into this, while we finish things up."

Jean-Paul opened his eyes, he saw Piotr standing over Wanda, who was on all-fours; while Kitty hanged from her wrists in her cat-like form. "Piotr?" he said slowly, trying to find out what was happening.

Surprised Piotr turned for a second, uttering his beloved's name. Wanda's eyes flashed for a second with red energy and she stretched her right hand towards Piotr, levitating him and stopping his movements.

"That was unexpected, you might have a backbone after all sonny-boy," Belasco said as he stood up. He ignored Jean-Paul screams as he inflicted pain on his offspring. "If you're so willing to die it can be arranged," he added with madness.

And then it happened. Slowly the rocks of the ceiling began to shift, to fall. First it was just one, as the castle slowly trembled. Then another followed, and another, and so forth; but the rocks didn't fall on them, they hovered around them. And the walls came down, and the entire castle was dismantled, and thunder roared in the distance.

And in the blood-red skies, Katherine Pryde was able to see Storm and Jean, floating toward them; with Piotr's sister holding a red book in her hands. And hope rose in her heart as she fell to the ground.

"This is over, father," said Illyana; clutching the opened book in her hands. Jean dropped her hands, sending the chunks of rock all over the place; while Storm's winds lowered the trio.

"The missing children, and my book! You've saved me a lot of time my dearest daughter. You truly are the apple of my eye." Belasco said with a smile. With a simple gesture the ground trembled and the mountain began to descend. In a matter of seconds the mountain was not a mountain anymore and they were surrounded by hundreds of demons. "Let's get this over with," he said as he raised his hand towards the trio of new arrivals, firing a blast of pure eldritch energy.

They separated, almost working as one, evading the blast. Storm created a hurricane around Wanda, attempting to separate her from her friends. Jean's eyes flashed and the chains around Kitty and Jean-Paul's wrists opened, releasing them at last. Illyana began chanting, and a wall of fire surrounded everyone; stopping the demons from advancing towards them.

"Infidels!" shouted Wanda, standing up and opening her arms wide. Storm's whirlwind stopped suddenly. "You will not stop me!" he shouted, and eldritch energy flowed from him destroying the fire wall and beckoning his demons to plunge forward. "You will all die!"

Colossus was released in the confusion, and he instantly turned to face the demons. Somehow he felt his sister's touch envelop him and he smiled, and began to pound the demons surrounding them with all his might. In truth, Illyana was weaving a spell around the young mutants, reinvigorating them after their torture.

Jean-Paul was fast on his feet and began to run towards the demons as well, hitting them as many as he could. In the blink of an eye he returned to Piotr and passionately kissed his mouth, and in another blink was smiling and fighting again with more strength.

Storm did not stop hammering Belasco, she hurled lightning after lightning towards him; which he promptly deflected while laughing madly. Jean focused her telekinesis towards the demons, and she could see Kitty phasing through them and attacking them with their own weapons and her claws.

"Jean! You must wake my brother! My magic is not having any effect on him!" shouted Illyana while greedily holding the Darkhold. At her command the red-headed mutant slowly landed next to Mikhail Rasputin, and placed her hands near his temples, closing her eyes and concentrating, trying to find his mind. Illyana watched for a second and then moved towards Jean-Paul. With no warning and no hesitation she stopped him from moving using a simple spell, and she plunged her hand into his chest. A second later she retrieved her soul-sword from it, and smiled broadly, releasing Jean-Paul and dropping him to the side like a used puppet.

"Illyana!" shouted Piotr, and he was overrun by a horde of demons; he fell to the ground with at least a dozen of the revolting creatures on top of him, all of them clawing and punching at his metallic hide.

Storm was about to create another whirlwind towards Wanda when she saw Illyana with her soulsword held high, running towards her. She took the opportunity to direct her winds towards the demons attacking Colossus, and lightning near Kitty's location to help her.

"It all ends now father!" shouted Illyana, as the Darkhold disappeared from her left hand and she grasped the Soulsword with both hands, plunging it straight into the red-clad mutant's chest.

And at that exact time, Belasco shouted and the young mutant's eyes erupted with red energy and agony. And the world began to shake.

Cassandra shouted in agony. Trapped in the middle of the chalk circle she crumbled to her knees with her arms outstretched as red energy poured from her eyes.

Both Charles and Erik made an involuntary movement towards her, but Agatha Harkness raised her voice and her hands, stopping them with a simple spell. She shouted at them to stop but the air was thick and her voice was barely audible, as Cassandra's scream filled the area. Wind erupted from out of nowhere. And the mountain shook.

"It… hurts…" said Mikhail Rasputin as he slowly opened his eyes. Jean let go of his mind as soon as she could, her face showing a true feeling of revolt and disgust. Slowly he sat on the ground, looking around, and he saw Illyana twisting the blade in Wanda's chest a she screamed with anger.

"It's your turn now, brother! Release her!" shouted Illyana, holding the Soulsword. The battle continued to rage around them, as Jean and Storm took the lead against the demons. Piotr ran towards Jean Paul, crouching next to him and holding his head.

Mikhail closed his eyes and raised his hands, concentrating as he stood up. He could hear the piercing ear-splitting scream of his father as Illyana's sword held him in place. Eldritch energy concentrated in his hands, and suddenly exploded towards the red-clad young mutant.

Remy Lebeau could not believe his eyes. Slowly he made his way towards the battle, seeing as energy flowed to and from Wanda's body. He couldn't understand what was going on. This wasn't at all what he expected when he took the assignment. As he moved towards the rest his mind raced to a few weeks ago. And the deep voice of his father, Nathaniel Essex, invaded his thoughts. "You must infiltrate them, pretend to be one of them. Learn all you can, my son. Fight by their side, bleed if necessary. Do what you must to earn their trust." Remy sighed, remembering what he vowed to his father and he ran towards the battle at his topmost speed.

The demons suddenly stopped, and as the red energy increased around Wanda they realized what was about to happen. Most turned and attempted to run away, but some were entranced by the blinding light, watching in awe as it happened. Wanda's energy exploded forward and for less than a second the figure of Chthon could be seen behind her, and she screamed in pain like she never had before in her entire life.

Mikhail Rasputin kept moving closer, continuing to pour eldritch energy as he did. When he reached Wanda he made a brusque movement with his right hand, plunging it next to the SoulSword. It was magic in its purest form. He grabbed Belasco's essence and pulled him out of Wanda, separating his father from the young mutant's body and throwing him to the side.

But Wanda didn't stop screaming, nor did her chthonic energy stop flowing. Slowly the X-Men gathered around her, and Wanda screamed one last time. The red energy became brighter and it erupted, creating a terrible silence as it did. It took several minutes for the explosion to settle. And as it did, Illyana stood there; with her soulsword intact and flaming. There was no sign of Piotr or his friends. She saw Mikhail next to her, crouching and in pain. And Belasco was clutching his heart on the floor, with hatred in his eyes. Illyana smiled and she plunged her sword into her father's heart once more. "Die father," she said with glee. And as her father died she gained his power and she laughed madly.

"Aaaaaaaaaaargh!" screamed Cassandra one last time. Her frail body shook and the energy consumed her, as flames erupted around her. The wind settled. The mountain stopped shaking. For a few seconds it was all still, and silence reigned. Suddenly the chalk circle began to dissipate in a white flash of light. After a few moments, Charles Xavier threw himself from his wheelchair to the ground; crouching next to the ashes of his siter. "She… she is gone again. Forever, isn't she?" he said without crying.

"Yes," replied Agatha Harkness slowly, directing her eyes towards the mountain. Amelia Voght walked the few steps separating her from her husband and crouched next to him, hugging him and comforting him.

"The children… where are the children?" asked Magneto, trying not to look at Charles and where Cassandra used to be seconds ago.

"I… I do not know," said Agatha simply. And a chilling breeze suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, and silence reigned once more.

**Epilogue One:**

Storm opened her eyes. Her entire body was aching. She felt rain upon her face. It was odd, she had not conjured rain. Slowly she began to sit and to look around. There was no one next to her. She was in a wood. She tried to stop the rain, but there was a strong conscience stopping her from doing so. She shivered and looked around for her friends. No one was there. She wanted to shout their names, but the view distracted her. A massive medieval castle stood before her. She didn't understand what she was seeing, but it looked like there was an invisible shield around the castle, preventing the rain from touching it.

"Thou appeared from out of nowhere, and thou attempt to stop my rain. Tell me, are you a minion of the evil that lurks in the castle?" said a voice behind her.

Storm slowly turned. She saw a tall man with long blonde hair, holding a massive hammer in his hand. She could not speak.

"By Odin speak fair woman! Are thou an enemy or an ally?" spoke Thor, God of Thunder, while he clutched Mjolnir in his hand.

**Epilogue Two:**

Kitty Pryde found herself meowing in surprise. Her heart was racing; her senses had been overwhelmed by the explosion of Wanda's magick. She watched her hands and there was still fur on them. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Slowly but surely she began to regain her human form. It took her several seconds to understand she could now change forms at will. She opened her eyes once more and softly spoke her friends name. There was no answer. She began to look around. She was in the middle of a jungle. Her surprise was great when she saw an aborigine woman standing in front of her, looking surprised.

"I cannot believe it… the God has sent his daughter to us," said the woman, instantly throwing herself at Kitty's feet. "The daughter of Bast is home at last, Wakanda will prosper once more!" she added as she kissed Kitty's feet.

**Epilogue Three:**

Jean Paul hugged his beloved as strongly as he could. There were both naked, in the middle of a jungle. He felt Piotr's chest below his cheek and his strong arm around his waist. He didn't want to move. "Piotr… where are we?" he asked without moving, looking at the high branches atop them.

"I have no idea, but… as long as we're together I am alright," he said. And as soon as he finished speaking they heard a terrible roar in the distance and saw two green leathery wings flap above them.

"Ok that was weird," said Jean Paul hugging his boyfriend harder.

**Epilogue Four:**

"Ouch, that is… icky," said Jean as she felt Wanda's energy leave her. She looked around. She was once more in the same bed in Muir Island where she had been… was it minutes? Hours? Days? She couldn't remember. She shivered, feeling a familiar presence in her mind. She knew Frost was near. And she felt terror running down her spine.

**Epilogue Five:**

"That was a first," said Remy Lebeau rubbing the back of his head. He appeared in a bed, with the strong sunlight bathing him. And he heard the familiar click of a gun pointing to his head.

"You have five seconds to explain how you managed to appear in my private quarters aboard the Helicarrier, and trust me, I am not in the mood for this kind of thing," said a young woman with long red hair and nothing but a towel on, pointing two guns at him.

**Epilogue Six:**

She had never felt such pain. Her heart was literally torn apart. She knew something was deeply wrong. She had been forced to watch as she herself tortured her friends. Belasco had made sure to keep her conscious while he inhabited her body. His talisman had become ash around her neck, leaving a scorched mark in its place. Wanda Lensherr was in pain, unable to speak, almost unable to breathe. She was able to take two steps and then she fainted, as thunder roared in the distance and rain began to pour.

"The magicks have been abused," said a drawling voice next to her. As she faded into unconsciousness she saw a tall strange man with a goatee reaching out to her. And when he grabbed her the world faded to black.

15


End file.
